Patricia Mueller Sells 1,881 Shares of Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Director Patricia Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $206.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.72 billion, a PE ratio of 31.21, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.97. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $216.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $196.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 price target on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 9th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in Ross Stores by 39.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,562,000 after purchasing an additional 7,951 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,992 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $573,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 105,818 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $13,500,000 after purchasing an additional 32,655 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.