Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 66,066 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Madison Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,593,021 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 66,066 shares during the period. Ross Stores comprises about 2.7% of Madison Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Madison Asset Management LLC owned about 0.49% of Ross Stores worth $242,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aspect Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 251.7% in the second quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 162.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth $38,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $169.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Evercore lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.94.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $192.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.99. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $194.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $185.68 and a 200-day moving average of $165.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The apparel retailer reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 36.75%. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.31%.

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.