Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $4.64 Million Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its Ross Stores stake by 504.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 25,731 shares valued at about $4.64 million.
• Ross Stores reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.02 beating estimates and revenue of $6.01 billion topping forecasts; revenue rose 20.6% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, while analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $233.18.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 504.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,731 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 21,474 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Somerset Trust Co boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,664,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in Ross Stores by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,309 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 954 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co raised its position in Ross Stores by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co now owns 3,399 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $232.62 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $74.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.49, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.49 and a 12-month high of $237.41. The business's 50 day moving average is $222.40 and its 200 day moving average is $201.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.42% and a net margin of 9.74%.Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. 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 forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,147.67. This represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ROST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $257.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Ross Stores from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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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