Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Chairman Michael Balmuth Sells 11,261 Shares

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $130.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.07.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after buying an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Ross Stores by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,127,802,000 after acquiring an additional 67,861 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,250,423,000 after purchasing an additional 135,117 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $649,318,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ROST. UBS Group cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.00.

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