Banco Santander S.A. Buys New Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 47,757 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,188,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 3.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,440,272 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $517,795,000 after purchasing an additional 129,908 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $397,747,000 after acquiring an additional 254,720 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,477,142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $359,991,000 after acquiring an additional 331,996 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 68.8% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $347,585,000 after acquiring an additional 975,190 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in Ross Stores by 3.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,131,529 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $312,756,000 after acquiring an additional 69,085 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $142.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $127.53 and a one year high of $163.60. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. This represents a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.50.

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.