Cinctive Capital Management LP Trims Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Cinctive Capital Management LP lowered its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,982 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 16,292 shares during the quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $9,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $649,318,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8,209.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $360,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,543 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $230,204,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $173,329,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $129.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.41. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ROST. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 value of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.