Graham Capital Management L.P. Sells 46,904 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Graham Capital Management L.P. lowered its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 80.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,212 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 46,904 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 93,508 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $14,074,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,081 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $10,881,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,880 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ROST. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of 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 lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.53.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock traded up $1.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $151.89. 2,369,077 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,649,720. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $134.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.45.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during 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%. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS 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 given 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 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Company 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.