Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Buys 544,602 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 544,602 shares and bringing its holding to 3.74 million shares worth about $672.8 million.
• Ross Stores posted a strong quarter, with EPS of $2.02 and revenue of $6.01 billion, both ahead of expectations, while revenue rose 20.6% year over year. The company also issued FY2026 guidance of $7.50 to $7.74 EPS.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.18.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 17.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,735,138 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 544,602 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 1.15% of Ross Stores worth $672,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,583 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,185,331 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $213,526,000 after acquiring an additional 94,269 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $700,000. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 823 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,404,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $248.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on 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 Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 2,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $460,147.67. This represents a 46.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $232.62 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.49 and a 12 month high of $237.41. The stock's 50 day moving average is $222.40 and its 200-day moving average is $201.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $74.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.49, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.86.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.29. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.42% and a net margin of 9.74%.The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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%.

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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