MML Investors Services LLC Buys 5,832 Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 45.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,803 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 5,832 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $2,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ANF. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 150.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,484,643 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $221,910,000 after purchasing an additional 892,492 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter worth $88,478,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,229,875 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $183,829,000 after buying an additional 212,155 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter valued at $31,371,000. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter worth $28,327,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on ANF shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $127.25.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Shares of ANF opened at $71.62 on Monday. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a fifty-two week low of $65.40 and a fifty-two week high of $196.99. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $81.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 1.41.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.57 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Abercrombie & Fitch Profile

Abercrombie & Fitch Co engages in the retail of apparel, personal care products, and accessories. The firm operates through following geographical segments: Americas, EMEA and APAC. The Americas segment includes operations in North America and South America. The EMEA segment includes operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

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