Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 20,103 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Cerity Partners LLC increased its Ross Stores stake by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, adding 20,103 shares and bringing its total holding to 164,276 shares worth about $29.6 million.
• Ross Stores reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.02 beating estimates and revenue of $6.01 billion topping expectations; the company also raised guidance for FY 2026 and Q2 2026.
• Analysts remain largely positive on ROST, with multiple firms lifting price targets and the stock carrying an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus target price of $233.18.

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 164,276 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 20,103 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Ross Stores worth $29,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 25.6% during 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 last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $1,411,000. Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $1,542,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $4,790,000. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 7.1% during the third quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 104,406 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $15,910,000 after purchasing an additional 6,941 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $22,331,883.20. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ROST. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $248.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of ROST stock opened at $231.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm's 50-day moving average is $224.11 and its 200-day moving average is $203.63. The stock has a market cap of $74.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.39, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.86. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.49 and a 52-week high of $237.41.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.86%.

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.

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