Waddell & Associates LLC Makes New $468,000 Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Waddell & Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,599 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ethic Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 23,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,847 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth $1,411,000. Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $1,542,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth $4,790,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 45,043 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $8,114,000 after purchasing an additional 17,090 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 104,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on Ross Stores from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ross Stores from $248.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $257.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $229.45 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.49 and a twelve month high of $237.41.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.42% and a net margin of 9.74%.Ross Stores’s revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. 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 anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.86%.

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.