Norges Bank Invests $521.16 Million in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Norges Bank bought a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,084,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $521,159,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 251.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 372.5% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $5,745,246.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at $22,944,338. This trade represents a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total transaction of $437,131.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 88,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,169,865.15. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $176.33 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $178.19. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.96. The company has a market capitalization of $57.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The apparel retailer reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. Ross Stores has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.380-6.46 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.770-1.85 EPS. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on ROST shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $164.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.07.

Ross Stores 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.