Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) CMO Sells $546,753.96 in Stock

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) CMO Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.91, for a total value of $546,753.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 103,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,234,874.95. The trade was a 2.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.7%

Ross Stores stock opened at $206.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $216.80.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $220.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $250,000. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,253,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 673,254 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $121,398,000 after acquiring an additional 10,175 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its stake in Ross Stores by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,955 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.