Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Sells 2,175 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP decreased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 25.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,387 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 2,175 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,183,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,648 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $4,787,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 83,610 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $12,648,000 after acquiring an additional 2,287 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 274.3% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,096,000 after acquiring an additional 14,998 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ross Stores from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST traded down $1.09 on Friday, reaching $142.28. 1,727,917 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,655,966. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $134.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.33. The stock has a market cap of $46.78 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

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.