Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Stock Holdings Decreased by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lowered its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 314,943 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 40,376 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $56,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,762,583 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,487,720,000 after purchasing an additional 180,182 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 4,747,639 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $605,704,000 after buying an additional 426,370 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,655,932 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $709,518,000 after buying an additional 252,284 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,045,346 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $616,470,000 after buying an additional 375,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshfield Associates grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 4,020,413 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $612,671,000 after buying an additional 157,385 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Ross Stores

Here are the key news stories impacting Ross Stores this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan Chase raised its price target on Ross Stores (ROST) to $251 from $248 and kept an overweight rating, reinforcing expectations for further upside. Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Price Target Raised to $251.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Positive Sentiment: Truist Securities initiated coverage of Ross Stores (ROST) with a buy rating and a $270 price target, signaling strong confidence in the retailer’s growth outlook and valuation. Truist Securities initiates coverage of Ross Stores (ROST) with buy recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: Another Truist note called Ross Stores and TJX top names in an attractive discount retail sector, which supports the bull case for the stock. TJX Companies, Ross Stores top names in an attractive vertical—Truist Securities
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and Zacks previews suggest Ross Stores may deliver solid Q1 results, with expectations for double-digit sales and EPS growth driven by traffic, merchandising, and store expansion. Ross Stores Gears Up to Report Q1 Earnings: Is a Beat in Store?
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains optimistic on ROST, with additional coverage highlighting it as a GARP-style stock and a potentially attractive value play versus peers. Add These 4 GARP Stocks to Your Portfolio to Receive Handsome Returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles compare Ross Stores with other discount retailers or discuss analyst-rating trends, but they largely reinforce the existing bullish narrative rather than adding new company-specific catalysts. DG or ROST: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Estimate revisions for FY2027 EPS also point to improving sentiment, though this is more of a long-term valuation signal than an immediate trading catalyst. Ross Stores FY2027 EPS Estimate Boosted by Erste Group Bank

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $248.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,331,883.20. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,147.67. The trade was a 46.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.8%

Ross Stores stock opened at $212.68 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $218.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.87. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.49 and a 52-week high of $231.16.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid 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 was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.93%.

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.