Jennison Associates LLC Raises Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 640.5% in Q4, adding 11,650 shares to hold 13,469 shares worth about $2.43 million.
• Insider selling has been notable recently: Director Patricia Mueller sold 1,881 shares and COO Michael Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares (≈$3.4M), with insiders offloading 25,756 shares valued at $5.52 million in the last 90 days.
• Fundamentals and outlook: Ross beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.00 vs. $1.90; revenue $6.64B vs. $6.42B), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.445, and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $212.06.

Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 640.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,469 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 11,650 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Somerset Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co now owns 3,399 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the sale, the director owned 2,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,147.67. The trade was a 46.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $208.00 price target on Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price target on Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.06.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $228.71 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.49 and a twelve month high of $230.44. The stock's 50 day moving average is $215.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.68 billion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The company had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.93%.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc NASDAQ: ROST is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross's business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.

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