Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) CMO Sells $437,131.88 in Stock

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total value of $437,131.88. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 88,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,169,865.15. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ ROST opened at $153.20 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.55. The company has a market capitalization of $49.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $158.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.67.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,476,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $630,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 50.9% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,149 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 2,750 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 7.0% during the first quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 680,994 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $87,024,000 after purchasing an additional 44,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% 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.