Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Takes Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 523,250 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $113,352,000. Ross Stores comprises 1.1% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.16% of Ross Stores as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Somerset Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 954 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co now owns 3,399 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $612,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $242.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $248.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.18.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $232.80 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average is $226.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.55. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.49 and a 1 year high of $242.81.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.86%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Ross Stores

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.