Jennison Associates LLC Purchases 213,181 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 963.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 235,316 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 213,181 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.07% of Ross Stores worth $32,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Ross Stores by 19.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $465,563,000 after acquiring an additional 673,670 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,677,191 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $415,339,000 after purchasing an additional 68,518 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.5% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,077,953 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $347,655,000 after purchasing an additional 44,722 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,229,488 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $251,821,000 after purchasing an additional 95,386 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Ross Stores by 12.6% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,215,353 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $250,224,000 after buying an additional 247,513 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total transaction of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $132.61 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $143.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.14. The stock has a market cap of $44.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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 boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.21.

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.