Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Reduces Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in Ross Stores by 18.6%, selling 9,700 shares during the first quarter, now holding 42,509 shares worth approximately $5.4 million.
• Analyst ratings for Ross Stores show twelve analysts with a buy rating, indicating positive sentiment, while JPMorgan raised the target price from $154 to $156.
• Ross Stores reported $1.47 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $4.98 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 2.6%.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lowered its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 18.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,509 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 9,700 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ ROST traded up $1.82 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $147.88. 3,534,508 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,089,632. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $135.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The firm 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company'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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.