M&T Bank Corp Sells 3,700 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

M&T Bank Corp cut its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,584 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 3,700 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 2,328 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 53.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 2.3% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 40,488 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,094,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Ross Stores by 2.9% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 46,853 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301 shares during the period. Finally, Graypoint LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 4.7% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,982 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.4 %

ROST stock opened at $135.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $44.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.49. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.07.

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.