Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.

Key Points

• EdgePoint Investment Group cut its Ross Stores stake by 55.9% in the first quarter, selling 2.45 million shares and retaining 1.93 million shares worth approximately $418.7 million.
• Ross Stores remains heavily institutionally owned, with institutional investors and hedge funds holding 86.86% of outstanding shares. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $233.18.
• The retailer reported strong quarterly results, posting $2.02 in earnings per share and $6.01 billion in revenue, beating estimates and increasing revenue 20.6% year over year. It also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, representing a 0.7% yield.

EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 55.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,932,581 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 2,454,496 shares during the period. Ross Stores comprises 3.4% of EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. owned about 0.60% of Ross Stores worth $418,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,911,953 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,506,099,000 after purchasing an additional 99,975 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Ross Stores by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,582,401 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,222,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657,008 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,436,788 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $979,384,000 after purchasing an additional 79,519 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $868,360,000. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP grew its position in Ross Stores by 9.9% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 4,747,639 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $605,704,000 after purchasing an additional 426,370 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $242.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $243.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.99, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.37 and a 1-year high of $244.22. The business's 50 day moving average is $227.08 and its 200-day moving average is $214.43.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.29. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 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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