Brian R. Morrow Sells 10,734 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 62,711 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,806. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $146.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,960,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,491,400. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average is $144.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.86. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 26.44%.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.21.

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.