Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 48.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 165,488 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,941 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.05% of Ross Stores worth $29,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 41,244 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,430,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. First American Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 53,425 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $9,624,000 after buying an additional 13,540 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 43.9% in the 4th quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 12,852 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,315,000 after buying an additional 3,920 shares during the period. Alteri Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 4,102 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 8,361 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of Ross Stores 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 directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $257.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $242.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.18.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $231.92 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $224.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.40 billion, a PE ratio of 32.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.86. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.49 and a 12 month high of $237.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.42% and a net margin of 9.74%.The company’s revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. 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. Research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.86%.

Ross Stores 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.