Junto Capital Management LP Has $147.56 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Junto Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 184.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 968,290 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 628,042 shares during the period. Ross Stores comprises about 3.0% of Junto Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Junto Capital Management LP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $147,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 39.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,562,000 after purchasing an additional 7,951 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 23.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.3% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,211 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 18,104 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 80,648 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,289,000 after acquiring an additional 5,197 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $206.28 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $216.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.72 billion, a PE ratio of 31.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 26.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.29.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.91, for a total transaction of $546,753.96. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 103,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,234,874.95. This represents a 2.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,147.67. This represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off?price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand?name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.