Insider Selling: Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) CMO Sells 5,506 Shares of Stock

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Karen Sykes also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 10th, Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of Ross Stores stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.91, for a total transaction of $546,753.96.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $211.69 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $200.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.51. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.07 and a 1-year high of $217.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $68.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.03, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.97.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The company had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday. UBS Group set a $208.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ross Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROST. State Street Corp grew its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,974,551 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,782,873,000 after purchasing an additional 61,168 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,762,583 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,487,720,000 after purchasing an additional 180,182 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,436,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $979,384,000 after buying an additional 79,519 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $868,360,000. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 9.9% in 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 buying an additional 426,370 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Ross Stores

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

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.