Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Bought by Hendershot Investments Inc.

Hendershot Investments Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 77,918 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,271 shares during the period. Ross Stores accounts for 1.3% of Hendershot Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Hendershot Investments Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $9,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 14.0% in the first quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 4,753 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 17.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,360,413,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946,101 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,729 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,017,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,971,294 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $251,912,000 after purchasing an additional 21,473 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.4%

ROST stock opened at $177.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $161.57 and a 200-day moving average of $147.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $179.05.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The apparel retailer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 37.21%. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.31%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total transaction of $437,131.88. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 88,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,169,865.15. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total value of $971,793.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 57,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,607,101.64. The trade was a 10.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 48,720 shares of company stock worth $7,154,172 over the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Erste Group Bank began coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, October 31st. They set a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group set a $203.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.00.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.