Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) CEO Sells 49,205 Shares

Key Points

• CEO James Grant Conroy sold 49,205 Ross Stores shares at an average price of $229.48, generating approximately $11.29 million and reducing his holdings by 26.81%.
• Ross Stores shares fell 1.6% to $226.26, despite the company reporting quarterly EPS of $2.66—well above the $1.95 analyst consensus—and 13.3% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus, an average price target of $263.76, and 86.86% of the stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) CEO James Grant Conroy sold 49,205 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.48, for a total value of $11,291,563.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,349 shares in the company, valued at $30,830,408.52. This represents a 26.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $3.78 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $226.26. 1,776,163 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,700,784. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $236.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.10. The firm has a market cap of $72.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.61. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $143.39 and a twelve month high of $257.00.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.71. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 39.29% and a net margin of 10.85%.The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 8.15 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 Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 21.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ROST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $262.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Evercore set a $290.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Ross Stores from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ross Stores from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $263.76.

Institutional Trading of Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROST. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $5,938,711,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,024,203,000. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth $1,937,995,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $868,360,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,615,682 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,408,148,000 after buying an additional 3,118,591 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc NASDAQ: ROST is an off-price retailer that operates Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS stores. The company sells a broad selection of apparel, accessories, footwear and home fashion merchandise for women, men and children, generally at prices below those of traditional department and specialty stores.

Ross Stores follows an opportunistic buying model, purchasing name-brand, designer and other merchandise from manufacturers and retailers at discounted prices. Its product assortment changes frequently and can include clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry, beauty products, furniture, bedding, home décor and other household goods.

Founded in 1950, the company is headquartered in Dublin, California, and serves customers primarily through its store network across the United States and Guam.

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