Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 20,439 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its Ross Stores stake by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 20,439 shares and bringing its total holding to 8,761,924 shares valued at about $1.57 billion.
• Ross Stores recently reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.02 topping estimates and revenue of $6.01 billion exceeding expectations. The company also raised guidance, signaling continued optimism for fiscal 2026.
• Analysts remain generally bullish, with multiple firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus. Meanwhile, insiders have sold shares in recent months, including notable sales by the COO and a director.

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,761,924 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 20,439 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.71% of Ross Stores worth $1,572,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Ross Stores by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,875 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,562,000 after acquiring an additional 7,951 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,581 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,350,000 after buying an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Ross Stores by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 150,491 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $19,200,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 12,580 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,605,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $257.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.18.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at $460,147.67. The trade was a 46.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was 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 represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 2.7%

Ross Stores stock opened at $227.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.19 billion, a PE ratio of 31.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50-day moving average is $221.00 and its 200-day moving average is $199.30. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.49 and a fifty-two week high of $237.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. Ross Stores's revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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 anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 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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