Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. by 43.7%, selling 60,210 shares, leaving them with 77,559 shares valued at approximately $9.91 million.
• Ross Stores reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.47 for the latest quarter, beating analysts' expectations of $1.44, and a revenue of $4.98 billion, up 2.6% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 25.59%.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 43.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 77,559 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 60,210 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $9,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 50.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in Ross Stores by 372.5% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock traded up $1.82 on Tuesday, reaching $147.88. The company had a trading volume of 3,468,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,084,139. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company's fifty day moving average is $135.19 and its 200 day moving average is $137.11. The company has a market cap of $48.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%.The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Ross Stores's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Ross Stores has set its Q2 2025 guidance at 1.400-1.55 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ross Stores from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.06.

About Ross Stores

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.