Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) CMO Karen Sykes Sells 5,036 Shares

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,400,425.20. This trade represents a 4.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $130.31 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.03. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,952,170,000 after buying an additional 3,995,760 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 67,861 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,250,423,000 after purchasing an additional 135,117 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% during 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $649,318,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ROST. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.00.

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.