Jennison Associates LLC Acquires 164,055 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 1,218% in the first quarter, buying 164,055 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 177,524 shares worth about $38.5 million.
• Ross Stores posted strong quarterly results, with earnings of $2.02 per share and revenue of $6.01 billion, both ahead of analysts’ estimates and up 20.6% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with several firms raising price targets; the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and a target price of about $233.18, while shares recently traded near $235.78.

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 1,218.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 177,524 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 164,055 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.06% of Ross Stores worth $38,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 39.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,875 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,562,000 after buying an additional 7,951 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 23.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 35.8% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,581 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.0% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 150,491 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $19,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.2% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 12,580 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $235.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $75.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $224.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.52. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $130.49 and a one year high of $242.81.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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 predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $242.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.18.

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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