M&T Bank Corp Sells 5,601 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 11.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,284 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 5,601 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 917.2% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $4,440,000 after purchasing an additional 26,598 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Ross Stores by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 49,523 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $7,454,000 after buying an additional 16,248 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,737,042 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $397,747,000 after acquiring an additional 254,720 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 103,567 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $15,588,000 after acquiring an additional 5,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 144,310 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $21,720,000 after acquiring an additional 10,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $153.88. 2,129,226 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,343,010. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $146.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

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 to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.