Morgan Stanley Boosts Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target to $137.00

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $131.00 to $137.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on ROST. Bank of America boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Ross Stores from $136.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Sunday, August 20th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. They issued an outperform rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores from an accumulate rating to a buy rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $129.38.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.5 %

ROST opened at $129.43 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $116.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.66. The firm has a market cap of $44.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $131.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.83.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The apparel retailer reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 39.34% and a net margin of 8.75%. The company had revenue of $4.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 4th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 26.53%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 20,749 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Friday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.73, for a total transaction of $2,318,285.77. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,978,974.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 20,749 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.73, for a total transaction of $2,318,285.77. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,978,974.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 25,945 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.53, for a total value of $3,153,095.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 67,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,146,520.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 89,948 shares of company stock valued at $10,643,727. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 5,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Steph & Co. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 2,048 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,021 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 14.1% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 783 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional grew its position in Ross Stores by 4.7% in the first quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,249 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 84.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 primarily to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.