Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Acquires 1,760 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,917 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,760 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $8,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 14.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,182,660 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,998,924,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060,954 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,268,700 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,310,081,000 after purchasing an additional 51,765 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,673,823 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,102,077,000 after purchasing an additional 133,005 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $521,159,000. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 59.3% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,055,088 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $518,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,815 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.8%

ROST stock opened at $176.33 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $178.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $158.63 and its 200 day moving average is $146.96. The company has a market capitalization of $57.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The apparel retailer reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. Ross Stores has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.380-6.46 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.770-1.85 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 9th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.31%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total transaction of $437,131.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 88,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,169,865.15. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value of $607,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at $16,149,236.88. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Erste Group Bank started coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, October 31st. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.07.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.