Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Insider Stephen Brinkley Sells 6,424 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Stephen Brinkley sold 6,424 Ross Stores shares at an average price of $229.66, totaling approximately $1.48 million. His remaining stake is 51,665 shares, an 11.06% reduction in ownership.
• Strong quarterly results: Ross Stores reported $2.66 in earnings per share, beating estimates of $1.95, while revenue rose 13.3% year over year to $6.26 billion.
• Market outlook: Shares recently traded near $226, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $263.76. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, implying a 0.8% yield.

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) insider Stephen Brinkley sold 6,424 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.66, for a total value of $1,475,335.84. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,865,383.90. This represents a 11.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $3.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $226.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,776,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,700,784. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $143.39 and a twelve month high of $257.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.39, a PEG 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 (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.71. Ross Stores had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 39.29%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.445 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 21.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,361 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 69,580 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $14,810,000 after buying an additional 8,673 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,447 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,663 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.8% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $260.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Ross Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $263.76.

About Ross Stores

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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