Banco Santander S.A. Sells 39,282 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Banco Santander S.A. decreased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 82.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,475 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 39,282 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $173,329,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 137.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 4,787.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $94,783,000 after acquiring an additional 616,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $86,732,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.07.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.4 %

ROST opened at $135.96 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $145.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.45. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

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.