Banco Santander S.A. Trims Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Banco Santander S.A. reduced its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 82.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 32,508 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,918,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 113,777 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,211,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 586.4% in the fourth quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 14,724 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,227,000 after purchasing an additional 12,579 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 86.7% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,760 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 19,575 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ROST. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.07.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $135.96 on Monday. 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

About Ross Stores

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.