American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 472,683 Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Free Report) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,505,340 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 472,683 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 2.87% of American Eagle Outfitters worth $91,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEO. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 15,273 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 4,384 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 171.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,548 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 12.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,496,916 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $55,906,000 after buying an additional 281,548 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 41.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 239,688 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $5,367,000 after buying an additional 69,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 373,675 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $8,367,000 after acquiring an additional 76,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total value of $48,043.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AEO. Raymond James started coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Barclays cut American Eagle Outfitters from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $10.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup set a $13.00 price target on American Eagle Outfitters and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Eagle Outfitters presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.00.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AEO traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $12.05. 1,189,705 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,732,799. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $14.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.16. The stock has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.57. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a one year low of $10.74 and a one year high of $26.25.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. American Eagle Outfitters's payout ratio is presently 29.76%.

American Eagle Outfitters Profile

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc operates as a multi-brand specialty retailer in the United States and internationally. The company provides jeans, apparel and accessories, and personal care products for women and men under the American Eagle brand; and intimates, apparel, activewear, and swim collections under the Aerie and OFFLINE by Aerie brands.