Karen Fleming Sells 5,339 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST traded up $2.24 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $125.95. 5,331,164 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,398,132. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.77 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.