Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Purchased by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1,713.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,898 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 148,247 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $23,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aspect Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 251.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 162.6% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $186.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $60.32 billion, a PE ratio of 29.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.36. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $194.92.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The apparel retailer reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 36.75%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. Ross Stores has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.380-6.46 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.770-1.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ross Stores from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.41.

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.