Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Has $9.32 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. cut its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 9.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,222 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 6,725 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $9,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 14.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,182,660 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,998,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060,954 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at about $521,159,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1,908.8% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,816,763 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $276,857,000 after buying an additional 1,726,324 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 20.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,582,401 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,222,523,000 after buying an additional 1,657,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 30.1% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,669,876 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $468,203,000 after buying an additional 849,391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,147.67. The trade was a 46.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.91, for a total transaction of $546,753.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 103,945 shares in the company, valued at $22,234,874.95. This represents a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $199.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, December 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.29.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ ROST opened at $207.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $67.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $196.73 and its 200-day moving average is $174.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $216.80.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The business had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.93%.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.