Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,328,396 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 747,031 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $419,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Somerset Trust Co lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,664,000 after buying 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 valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 954 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores 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 research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. One research 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, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $227.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $72.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.76, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $223.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.54. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $124.49 and a one year high of $237.41.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.