Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Director Patricia Mueller Sells 1,881 Shares

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Director Patricia Mueller sold 1,881 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ ROST traded down $3.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $209.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,283,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,619,865. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $195.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.56. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $216.80. The stock has a market cap of $67.87 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.97.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 24.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Somerset Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,664,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 954 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co now owns 3,399 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off?price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand?name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.