BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Makes New $1.40 Million Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. opened a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter, buying 7,795 shares worth about $1.40 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with several large investors such as Bank of America, Norges Bank, Viking Global, Invesco, and First Trust all adding to or initiating positions in the retailer.
• Ross Stores reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.02 beating estimates and revenue of $6.01 billion topping forecasts, while also raising guidance and maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share.

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,795 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,404,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,762,583 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,487,720,000 after acquiring an additional 180,182 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $868,360,000. Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 9.9% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 4,747,639 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $605,704,000 after purchasing an additional 426,370 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,655,932 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $709,518,000 after purchasing an additional 252,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 10.2% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,045,346 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $616,470,000 after purchasing an additional 375,470 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $24,935,577.48. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $223.82 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.49 and a 1-year high of $237.41. The stock has a market cap of $72.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $221.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $200.22.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.29. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 24.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $257.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Company 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.

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