Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 107,248 Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 42.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 146,596 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 107,248 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.29% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $20,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 8.8% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 112,381 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $19,986,000 after purchasing an additional 9,061 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 1st quarter worth approximately $674,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 362,479 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $50,711,000 after buying an additional 97,893 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 209.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 48,648 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $6,097,000 after acquiring an additional 32,915 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 123.3% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 33,883 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $6,026,000 after acquiring an additional 18,707 shares in the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 2.8 %

NYSE:ANF traded up $3.91 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $145.64. 746,870 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,675,066. The company's 50 day moving average is $141.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.25. The company has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 1.50. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a twelve month low of $65.60 and a twelve month high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.36. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 47.35% and a net margin of 10.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Abercrombie & Fitch

In related news, CFO Scott D. Lipesky sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 106,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,627,594. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, CFO Scott D. Lipesky sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,627,594. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Helen Mccluskey sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.38, for a total transaction of $487,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,470 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,222,568.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,541 shares of company stock worth $4,310,256 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ANF. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $155.00 to $147.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup raised Abercrombie & Fitch from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $177.43.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

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.