Magnetar Financial LLC Cuts Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Magnetar Financial LLC trimmed its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 77.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,799 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 23,582 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 515.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,756,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $243,135,000 after buying an additional 1,471,585 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $347,585,000 after purchasing an additional 975,190 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $653,600,000 after purchasing an additional 601,031 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 27.8% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,814,440 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $263,675,000 after purchasing an additional 394,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,007,528 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $291,734,000 after acquiring an additional 390,518 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $152.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.13. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.35 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $50.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.79%.

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.