PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 326,359 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 25,672 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Ross Stores worth $49,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,462,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $59,000. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 39.9% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 6,639 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.1% in the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,945 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 19,343 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This represents a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $139.32 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $46.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09. The company's fifty day moving average price is $145.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 23.71%.

Ross Stores Profile

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.