Dakota Wealth Management Invests $1.29 Million in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 7,182 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,294,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Somerset Trust Co increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.3% in the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 20,114 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,065,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finivi Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.2% in the third quarter. Finivi Inc. now owns 1,646 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.1% during the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is 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 strength: Ross posted broad-based category strength with record sales and strong Q4 gains, underscoring healthy demand and margin leverage potential—key support for forward earnings. Ross Stores Shows Broad-Based Category Strength: Can Momentum Hold?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades: Erste Group raised FY2027 and FY2028 EPS forecasts sharply (to ~$7.36 and ~$8.14, respectively), well above current consensus — this lifts forward earnings expectations and supports valuation expansion. MarketBeat ROST
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage backing: Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240 price target, signaling continued sell-side confidence and potential upside from current levels. Telsey Reaffirms Outperform
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term growth view: Analysts and commentary (e.g., Seeking Alpha) argue Ross’ earnings should continue growing at a healthy clip given its off-price positioning and margin profile — a structural bullish argument for investors focused on multi-year returns. Ross Stores: Earnings Should Continue To Grow At A Healthy Clip
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment coverage: A Zacks piece highlights Wall Street bulls are optimistic and that analyst ratings can move the stock — useful context but not a specific rating change driving action. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About Ross Stores (ROST): Should You Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/market commentary: Broader consumer-spending commentary (e.g., Jim Cramer coverage) is referenced — supportive of retail but not a direct company-specific catalyst. Jim Cramer’s 5 Stock Calls and the Truth About Strong Consumer Spending
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Reports show top Ross executives executed a sizable stock sale on March 26, which can spook investors and prompt short-term selling or profit-taking despite positive fundamentals. Top Ross Stores Executives Quietly Cash In on Major Stock Sale

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Ross Stores from $199.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 9th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.29.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $211.69 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.03, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $200.54 and a 200-day moving average of $178.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.07 and a fifty-two week high of $217.51.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The business had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 26.93%.

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.