James Grant Conroy Sells 49,205 Shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) CEO James Grant Conroy sold 49,205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.48, for a total transaction of $11,291,563.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,830,408.52. This trade represents a 26.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $3.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $226.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,776,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,700,784. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $226.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.85. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.39 and a fifty-two week high of $257.00.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 39.29% and a net margin of 10.85%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ROST. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $260.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.76.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROST. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,938,711,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,024,203,000. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,937,995,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $868,360,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 89.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,615,682 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,408,148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118,591 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an off-price retailer that operates Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores. The company sells a broad selection of apparel, accessories, footwear and home fashion merchandise for women, men and children, generally at prices below those of traditional department and specialty stores.

Ross Stores follows an opportunistic buying model, purchasing name-brand, designer and other merchandise from manufacturers and retailers at discounted prices. Its product assortment changes frequently and can include clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry, beauty products, furniture, bedding, home décor and other household goods.

Founded in 1950, the company is headquartered in Dublin, California, and serves customers primarily through its store network across the United States and Guam.