Insider Selling: Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) CMO Sells $672,979.00 in Stock

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total value of $672,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 93,126 shares in the company, valued at $11,892,190.20. This trade represents a 5.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 Down 0.7 %

Shares of ROST opened at $130.31 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $135.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price 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. UBS Group decreased 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in 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. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th 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 bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

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.