Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 11,808 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 14.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,947 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 11,808 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $8,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,360,413,000 after buying an additional 4,946,101 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,673,823 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,102,077,000 after acquiring an additional 133,005 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 59.3% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,055,088 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $518,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,815 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.0% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,997,575 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $510,850,000 after purchasing an additional 192,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,912,392 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $372,134,000 after purchasing an additional 15,085 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ROST. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total transaction of $971,793.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,012 shares in the company, valued at $8,607,101.64. The trade was a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total transaction of $437,131.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 88,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,169,865.15. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $160.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $165.07. The stock has a market cap of $52.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $154.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.05.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.71%.

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.