Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Acquired by MUFG Securities EMEA plc

MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 113.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,333 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,073 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ethic Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 23,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,282,000 after buying an additional 4,847 shares during the period. Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,542,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,411,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,790,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 84.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 227,340 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $34,645,000 after buying an additional 104,270 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $224.07 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $221.76 and its 200-day moving average is $200.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.49 and a 12-month high of $237.41.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. The business’s revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ROST. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $257.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.18.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004 over the last ninety days. 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.