Jennison Associates LLC Boosts Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 963.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 235,316 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 213,181 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $32,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,722 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 39.4% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 14.1% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 783 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.0% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 6,286 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $710,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,077,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $132.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.14. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $151.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.