PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 25,672 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 326,359 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 25,672 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $49,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $139.32 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $145.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.44. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $46.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. 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 note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Company 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.