T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 32.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,704,092 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,320,947 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 0.84% of Ross Stores worth $487,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Somerset Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 954 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co grew its position in Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co now owns 3,399 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $232.80 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $124.49 and a one year high of $242.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $226.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.29. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.42% and a net margin of 9.74%.The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 24.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of Ross Stores 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,935,577.48. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Ross Stores from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ross Stores from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on Ross Stores from $242.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.18.

About Ross Stores

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.