Geode Capital Management LLC Has $1.57 Billion Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,761,924 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,439 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,572,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 23,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,847 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,411,000. Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,542,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,790,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 84.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 227,340 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $34,645,000 after purchasing an additional 104,270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $227.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.54. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.49 and a 52-week high of $237.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $221.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $199.30. The stock has a market cap of $73.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.87.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly 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. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. The company’s revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $242.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $248.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.18.

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.