Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Buys 55,304 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 114.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 103,799 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,304 shares during the quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $15,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ross Stores from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.73.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $142.28 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $134.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.33. The firm has a market cap of $46.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

About Ross Stores

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.