Insider Selling: Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) COO Sells 8,366 Shares of Stock

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.1 %

ROST opened at $154.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.35 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $147.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter worth $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter worth $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

About Ross Stores

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.