Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Has $61.30 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC has reduced its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 36.7%, selling 278,605 shares and owning now 479,701 shares valued at approximately $61.3 million.
• Ross Stores reported a quarterly EPS of $1.47, exceeding analysts' estimate of $1.44, with a revenue increase to $4.98 billion for the quarter, reflecting a 2.6% year-over-year growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.1% with a payout ratio of 25.59%.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC cut its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 36.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 479,701 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 278,605 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.15% of Ross Stores worth $61,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,360,413,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946,101 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Ross Stores by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,336,312 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $504,684,000 after buying an additional 1,368,571 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Ross Stores by 411.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,458,963 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $220,697,000 after buying an additional 1,173,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $176,973,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $159.06.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST traded up $1.6980 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $147.7580. 2,407,419 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,082,423. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $135.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.11. The company has a market cap of $48.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. Ross Stores has set its Q2 2025 guidance at 1.400-1.55 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.59%.

Ross Stores Company Profile

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.