Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) COO Michael J. Hartshorn Sells 8,366 Shares of Stock

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $150.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $50.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $147.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. American International Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 124,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,219,000 after purchasing an additional 2,969 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 724.1% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,611,000 after buying an additional 21,833 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 232.6% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 32,182 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,454,000 after buying an additional 22,506 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1,194.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 411,164 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $56,899,000 after acquiring an additional 379,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth about $1,483,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

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.