Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) CEO Barbara Rentler Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) CEO Barbara Rentler sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.07, for a total value of $2,381,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 305,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,366,954.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Barbara Rentler also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 28th, Barbara Rentler sold 23,254 shares of Ross Stores stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.02, for a total value of $2,790,945.08.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $121.02 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.21 and a 12-month high of $122.70. The stock has a market cap of $41.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $112.91 and its 200-day moving average is $108.42.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 17th. The apparel retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.16. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 8.36%. The company had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 1st. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. American National Bank raised its stake in Ross Stores by 656.0% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 378 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. ETF Managers Group LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. ETF Managers Group LLC now owns 8,033 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Ross Stores by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,079,146 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $326,790,000 after acquiring an additional 22,580 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 741,248 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $86,037,000 after acquiring an additional 80,914 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ROST. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. 888 reiterated a “downgrade” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.00.

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