Key Points
- Patricia Mueller, a Ross Stores director, sold 1,881 shares on March 10 at an average price of $213.13 for about $400,897, cutting her stake by 46.56% and leaving her with 2,159 shares (~$460,148).
- Quarterly earnings beat: Ross reported EPS of $2.00 vs. $1.90 expected and revenue of $6.64 billion (up 12.2% year‑over‑year), beating sales and profit estimates.
- Dividend increase: Ross raised its quarterly dividend to $0.445 (annualized $1.78) from $0.41, yielding about 0.9% with an ex‑dividend date of March 13 and payment on March 31.
Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) Director Patricia Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,147.67. The trade was a 46.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.
Ross Stores Stock Down 0.9%
Shares of ROST traded down $1.82 on Friday, reaching $208.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,015,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,585,514. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $216.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.29 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $195.84 and a 200-day moving average of $173.81.
Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The company had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.
Ross Stores Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a 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 is presently 24.51%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores
Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROST. World Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $250,000. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,253,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 673,254 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $121,398,000 after buying an additional 10,175 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $234,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,955 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have commented on ROST shares. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $215.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.29.
View Our Latest Research Report on Ross Stores
About Ross Stores
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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