KBC Group NV Buys 9,954 Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 778.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,232 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 9,954 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $1,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,221,890 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $171,815,000 after purchasing an additional 63,157 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,017,720 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $142,379,000 after buying an additional 204,901 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 870,143 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $121,733,000 after buying an additional 60,022 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 3.0% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 569,828 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $79,719,000 after acquiring an additional 16,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 3rd quarter valued at about $73,048,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

Shares of ANF stock traded down $1.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $113.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,307,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,313,462. The company has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 1.49. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $141.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.05. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 52-week low of $101.59 and a 52-week high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.18. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. 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 previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. The company's revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 97,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,697,070. The trade was a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ANF. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $173.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised Abercrombie & Fitch from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $182.25.

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.