Pitcairn Co. Sells 3,607 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Pitcairn Co. lowered its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 3,607 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 154.5% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 308 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 69.8% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,514 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,927 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,710 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 140.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 464,062 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $68,106,000 after acquiring an additional 270,844 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 216.2% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 72,808 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $10,684,000 after acquiring an additional 49,784 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 represents a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $146.09 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $145.14 and a 200-day moving average of $144.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 42.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.69.

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.