Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 389,301 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 51.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 363,996 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 389,301 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $78,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 7,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. City Holding Co. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 1,080.0% in the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Down 5.9%

Shares of ROST opened at $215.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $69.01 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $226.71 and its 200 day moving average is $207.96. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.49 and a 12-month high of $242.81.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 38.42%. The business’s revenue was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. 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 expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ROST. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Ross Stores from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $257.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores 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.