Michael J. Hartshorn Sells 7,492 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $129.09 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $138.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after buying an additional 3,995,760 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Ross Stores by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,127,802,000 after purchasing an additional 67,861 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,250,423,000 after purchasing an additional 135,117 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $649,318,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by 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.