Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp cut its position in Ross Stores by 90.1% in Q4, selling 32,829 shares and leaving 3,605 shares valued at about $649,000.
• Ross topped expectations for the quarter with EPS of $2.00 versus $1.90 estimated and revenue of $6.64B versus $6.42B (revenue +12.2% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.445 ($1.78 annual).
• About 86.86% of Ross is owned by institutional investors while insiders have sold ~25,756 shares in the past 90 days; analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $212.06 and the stock trades near its 52‑week high (~$228.71).

M&T Bank Corp cut its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 90.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,605 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 32,829 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in Ross Stores by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 284,605 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $51,322,000 after purchasing an additional 13,172 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $2,907,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 161.5% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,571 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 3,441 shares during the period. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 2,670 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $228.71 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.49 and a 52 week high of $230.44. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $215.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.74. The firm has a market cap of $73.68 billion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ross Stores from $215.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Ross Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $212.06.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.