Jennison Associates LLC Has $472,000 Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 33.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,694 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 1,853 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 50.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.4%

ROST stock traded up $1.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $138.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,644,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,566,151. The company has a market capitalization of $45.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.94.

Ross Stores Company 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.