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 the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total transaction of $672,979.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 93,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,892,190.20. This represents a 5.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $130.31 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $135.91 and a 200 day moving average of $144.07. The company has a market capitalization of $42.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on 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. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.00.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Company Profile

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.