Numerai GP LLC Has $789,000 Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Numerai GP LLC lowered its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,218 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 495 shares during the quarter. Numerai GP LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its stake in Ross Stores by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 83,619 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $12,649,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 65.1% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 95,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $14,503,000 after acquiring an additional 37,800 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 802,387 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $121,377,000 after acquiring an additional 203,692 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 114.0% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 103,799 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $15,702,000 after acquiring an additional 55,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fund 1 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $150.66 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $134.76 and a 200 day moving average of $142.45. The company has a market capitalization of $49.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. 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. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.53.

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.