Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Stake Lessened by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 24.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,720,960 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 3,151,541 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,751,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $868,360,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $351,763,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1,908.8% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,816,763 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $276,857,000 after buying an additional 1,726,324 shares in the last quarter. 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,750,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the company’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 owned 116,028 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $227.42 on Tuesday. 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 has a market cap of $72.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.86. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.49 and a 52 week high of $237.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $223.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.64.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ROST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $248.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup raised 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One 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 MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.18.

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.