Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 328,814 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management increased its Ross Stores stake by 608.5% in the first quarter, purchasing 328,814 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 382,854 shares worth approximately $82.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.86% of the company.
• Ross Stores reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.02 versus the $1.73 consensus and revenue of $6.01 billion, up 20.6% year over year. The company guided to fiscal 2026 EPS of $7.50–$7.74.
• Shares opened at $243.35, near their 12-month high, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $233.18 average price target. Ross also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, representing a 0.7% yield.

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 608.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 382,854 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 328,814 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.12% of Ross Stores worth $82,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ethic Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 23,772 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,847 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 61.1% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 45,043 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $8,114,000 after purchasing an additional 17,090 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 138.4% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,300,056 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $234,192,000 after purchasing an additional 754,816 shares in the last quarter. Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $1,542,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $204,750,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $243.35 on Tuesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.37 and a 12-month high of $244.22. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $78.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.99, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.87.

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 firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue 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. Analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $257.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.18.

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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