Evoke Wealth LLC Purchases 4,652 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Evoke Wealth LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 52% in the fourth quarter, buying 4,652 additional shares and bringing its total position to 13,596 shares worth about $2.45 million.
• Ross Stores delivered a strong first quarter, with EPS of $2.02 and revenue of $6.01 billion both beating estimates, while same-store sales surged 17% year over year.
• The retailer raised full-year guidance to $7.50-$7.74 in EPS and lifted its comparable-sales outlook to 6%-7%, prompting analysts to turn more bullish and push up price targets.

Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 52.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,596 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 4,652 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ethic Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 25.6% in the 4th 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 stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,411,000. Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,542,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,790,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Ross Stores by 84.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 227,340 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $34,645,000 after purchasing an additional 104,270 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Ross Stores News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Ross Stores reported Q1 EPS of $2.02, easily topping estimates, while revenue of $6.01 billion also exceeded forecasts; same-store sales jumped 17% and revenue rose 20.6% year over year. Ross Stores Reports Robust First Quarter Sales and Earnings Results, Significantly Exceeding Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised full-year EPS guidance to $7.50-$7.74 and increased its comparable-sales outlook to 6%-7%, signaling continued momentum after a strong quarter. Ross Stores Lifts Outlook as Sales Jump
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more bullish after the beat, with Citigroup lifting its price target to $270 and other firms raising forecasts, reinforcing the post-earnings rally. These Analysts Boost Their Forecasts On Ross Stores After Better-Than-Expected Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple market commentaries highlighted Ross Stores as a beneficiary of consumer demand for value and noted the stock hitting a 52-week high after the earnings release. Why Ross Stores Stock Climbed Today

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $248.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.88.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at $460,147.67. This represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 8.1%

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $234.81 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $219.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.49 and a 1-year high of $235.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.29. The business 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 39.02%. The company's revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.93%.

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.

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