Michael J. Hartshorn Sells 8,366 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.41 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $150.73. 1,364,858 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,239,160. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $147.05 and a 200-day moving average of $142.97.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,178,000. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $745,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 42,306 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,148,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $321,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.71.

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.