AQR Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 23.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 945,598 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 282,632 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.29% of Ross Stores worth $143,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 8.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $295,857,000 after buying an additional 151,255 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,772 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,675,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 231.1% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,161 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 5,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ross Stores from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This trade represents a 4.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $140.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $133.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.64. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company's Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.

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