AQR Capital Management LLC Has $87.36 Million Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Ross Stores by 26.2%, selling 247,827 shares and retaining 697,771 shares worth approximately $87.36 million.
• Ross Stores reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.56, exceeding analysts' estimates, along with a 4.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share to be paid on September 30th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.1%.

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 26.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 697,771 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 247,827 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.21% of Ross Stores worth $87,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 274.3% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,096,000 after acquiring an additional 14,998 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,648 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,787,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 43,426 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $6,569,000 after acquiring an additional 4,139 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.67.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $149.32. 397,106 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,095,302. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $141.22 and a 200 day moving average of $137.95. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $158.69. The company has a market capitalization of $48.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.71%.

Ross Stores Profile

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.