Cinctive Capital Management LP Lowers Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Cinctive Capital Management LP lessened its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,982 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 16,292 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $9,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hahn Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $11,203,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 137.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after buying an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $129.11 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.41.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.63%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.