Insider Selling: Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) CMO Sells 5,270 Shares of Stock

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total transaction of $672,979.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 93,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,892,190.20. The trade was a 5.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Karen Fleming also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 17th, Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.5 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $132.37 on Thursday. 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 $43.67 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.32. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in Ross Stores by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in Ross Stores by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

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.