Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Has $4.79 Million Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 44.5%, selling 30,100 shares and retaining 37,500 shares, valued at approximately $4.79 million.
• Ross Stores reported $1.56 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a revenue of $5.53 billion, up 4.6% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, which will be paid on September 30th, signifying a 1.1% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 25.71%.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lowered its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 44.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,500 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 30,100 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 81,139 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $10,369,000 after buying an additional 6,926 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 256,120 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $32,728,000 after purchasing an additional 20,216 shares during the period. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,001,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 59.3% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,055,088 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $518,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,815 shares during the period. Finally, Cinctive Capital Management LP increased its position in Ross Stores by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 70,121 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $8,961,000 after acquiring an additional 4,139 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,149,236.88. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ROST. Evercore ISI decreased their price target 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. 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. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.67.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ ROST traded down $2.53 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $149.04. 1,863,388 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,287,849. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $140.84 and a 200-day moving average of $137.87. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $158.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $48.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend 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 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.