North Dakota State Investment Board Takes $1.99 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,044 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,989,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 7,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. City Holding Co. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1,080.0% in the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 89.0% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,935,577.48. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $211.08 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $218.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.57. 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 stock has a market cap of $68.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The business had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ROST. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ross Stores from $248.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays increased their price target on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.56.

Key Ross Stores News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Truist Securities initiated coverage of Ross Stores (ROST) with a Buy rating and a $270 price target, highlighting the retailer as one of its favored names in the off-price/vertical retail space. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Ross Stores (ROST) to $251 from $248 and kept an Overweight rating, implying further upside if earnings remain solid. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and preview articles say Ross Stores is heading into Q1 results with expectations for double-digit sales and EPS growth, supported by strong traffic, merchandising execution, and store expansion. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is also focusing on the upcoming earnings release, with investors watching key metrics for confirmation that momentum in the business is continuing. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank reportedly boosted its FY2027 EPS estimate for Ross Stores (ROST), adding to the generally constructive analyst backdrop, though this is less immediately market-moving than the new buy ratings. Article Title

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.