Stephen Brinkley Sells 6,437 Shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) insider Stephen Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total transaction of $971,793.89. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 57,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,607,101.64. This trade represents a 10.15% 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 Stock Down 1.5%

Ross Stores stock opened at $147.71 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $158.69. 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 50 day moving average price of $148.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.88. The company has a market capitalization of $48.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.18.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,182,660 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,998,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060,954 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $521,159,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,582,401 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,222,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657,008 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 59.3% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,055,088 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $518,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth $122,043,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on ROST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.67.

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.