Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Ross Stores by 2.7%, owning approximately 1.84 million shares valued at $235.32 million as of Q1 2023.
• Several hedge funds have increased their holdings in Ross Stores, with notable increases of over 50% and 370% from different firms during the same quarter.
• Analysts have issued various ratings and price targets for Ross Stores, with JPMorgan raising their price target to $160 and eleven analysts rating it as a Buy, suggesting strong market confidence in the company.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,841,450 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 50,839 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.56% of Ross Stores worth $235,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.00.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.3%

Ross Stores stock traded up $1.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $150.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,360,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,331,318. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $136.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $158.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.71%.

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.