Savant Capital LLC Reduces Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Savant Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 37.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,593 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 4,022 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ROST. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 7,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1,080.0% during the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 396.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 248 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ROST. Zacks Research raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.18.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of ROST opened at $224.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.86. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.49 and a 1 year high of $237.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $200.22.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. Ross Stores has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-7.740 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.850-1.930 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.86%.

Ross Stores 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.