KBC Group NV Has $15.52 Million Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 71,655 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,236 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $15,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $868,360,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1,908.8% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,816,763 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $276,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726,324 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 20.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,582,401 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,222,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657,008 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,167,479 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $570,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,750,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $235.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $75.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $225.00 and a 200-day moving average of $212.91. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $133.14 and a one year high of $242.81.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.47 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 is 24.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.18.

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.