Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 94,463 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management LLC trimmed its Ross Stores stake by 6.3% in the first quarter, selling 94,463 shares and leaving it with 1,412,924 shares worth about $306.1 million. Ross Stores remains the fund’s second-largest holding and makes up 3.8% of its portfolio.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on ROST, with recent rating boosts and higher price targets from firms including Citigroup and Truist. MarketBeat says the stock currently carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target price of $233.18.
• Ross Stores posted strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates with EPS of $2.02 on revenue of $6.01 billion. The company also raised guidance, while its quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share implies a 0.8% yield.

Madison Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,412,924 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 94,463 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores comprises approximately 3.8% of Madison Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Madison Asset Management LLC owned about 0.44% of Ross Stores worth $306,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Ethic Inc. grew 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 worth $4,282,000 after buying an additional 4,847 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 61.1% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 45,043 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $8,114,000 after acquiring an additional 17,090 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 138.4% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,300,056 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $234,192,000 after acquiring an additional 754,816 shares in the last quarter. Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,542,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,750,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ross Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $235.78 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $224.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $212.52. The firm has a market cap of $75.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.93, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.54. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.49 and a 1 year high of $242.81.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.47 earnings per share. Ross Stores's revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 24.86%.

Ross Stores Company 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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