Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) CEO James Grant Conroy Sells 39,351 Shares

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $5,745,246.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,944,338. The trade was a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of ROST stock opened at $151.52 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $158.69. The stock has a market cap of $49.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $145.69 and a 200-day moving average of $139.17.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,458 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,359,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 3.8% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,932 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 50.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in Ross Stores by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 6.1% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 target price (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.67.

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.