Nordea Investment Management AB Buys 3,978 Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,756 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,978 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.05% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $4,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANF. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 228.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 27,621 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,864,000 after buying an additional 19,222 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 112,381 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $19,986,000 after buying an additional 9,061 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 115.8% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 25,483 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,565,000 after buying an additional 13,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,027,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Abercrombie & Fitch stock traded up $9.92 on Friday, reaching $161.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,423,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,623,377. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a twelve month low of $95.47 and a twelve month high of $196.99. The company has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.52. The business's fifty day moving average price is $147.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.15.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.18. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $459,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,405 shares in the company, valued at $1,024,800. This trade represents a 30.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.20, for a total transaction of $1,292,471.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 97,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,697,070. The trade was a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741 over the last three months. 2.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered Abercrombie & Fitch from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $173.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.38.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch Co, through its subsidiaries, operates as an omnichannel retailer in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and internationally. The company offers an assortment of apparel, personal care products, and accessories for men, women, and kids under the Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, Hollister, and Gilly Hicks brands.