Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target Raised to $137.00 at Morgan Stanley

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $131.00 to $137.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a buy rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 13th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $129.38.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.5 %

ROST stock opened at $129.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ross Stores has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $131.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $116.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.66.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 16th. The apparel retailer reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 39.34% and a net margin of 8.75%. The business had revenue of $4.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Ross Stores will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 4th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 25,945 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.53, for a total transaction of $3,153,095.85. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 67,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,146,520.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 20,749 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.73, for a total value of $2,318,285.77. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,978,974.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 25,945 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.53, for a total transaction of $3,153,095.85. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 67,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,146,520.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,948 shares of company stock valued at $10,643,727 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.6% in the third quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 5,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Steph & Co. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 2,048 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 3.1% during the third quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,021 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 14.1% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 783 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 4.7% in the first quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,249 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.79% of the company’s stock.

About Ross Stores

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.