Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,045,346 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 375,470 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.24% of Ross Stores worth $616,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 251.7% in the second quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 162.6% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 152.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 257 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Ross Stores News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ross Stores this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat, raised dividend and bigger buybacks — Ross reported $6.64B revenue and $2.00 EPS, raised the quarterly dividend ~10% and expanded buybacks by ~25%, which supports EPS accretion and shareholder returns. MarketBeat Q4 analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Strong analyst momentum — several firms upgraded or lifted targets (Citigroup to $240, Goldman to $244, Telsey upgraded, Guggenheim bullish), reinforcing upside expectations after the results. Citigroup PT raise Goldman PT raise Telsey upgrade Guggenheim note
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/long-term momentum — ROST hit a 12‑month high and has outperformed benchmarks over the past year, supporting momentum-driven flows. 12-month high report Outperformance write-up
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector tailwind — the “treasure hunt” or off‑price theme (value-seeking consumers) is lifting both Ross and TJX, suggesting favorable secular demand but not guaranteed sustained outsized growth. Treasure hunt thesis
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking / short-term consolidation risk — shares gave back a portion of the post-earnings pop and analysts/coverage notes flag possible consolidation or a pullback toward the low‑$200s if momentum cools. Price-action risk
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and forward pacing — ROST trades at a premium (P/E ~32, PEG ~3.1) and management’s commentary implies the back half could slow, so upside now depends on persistent comp strength and margin maintenance. Valuation/Outlook piece

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ROST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $199.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.29.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.4%

ROST opened at $211.75 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $216.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.00. The firm has a market cap of $68.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.97.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 24.51%.

About Ross Stores

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.