Corebridge Financial Inc. Has $16.02 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Corebridge Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 105,912 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 6,708 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $16,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Hahn Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $11,203,000 after acquiring an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,524,000 after buying an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 137.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after buying an additional 1,144,774 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 4.6 %

ROST stock opened at $129.18 on Tuesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.42. The company has a market capitalization of $42.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on ROST shares. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

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.