The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 105.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,463 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 29,946 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.11% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $8,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 873,148 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $155,281,000 after buying an additional 120,509 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 870,143 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $121,733,000 after buying an additional 60,022 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 146.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 863,100 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $153,494,000 after buying an additional 512,700 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 569,828 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $79,719,000 after buying an additional 16,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $73,048,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of ANF traded up $6.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $161.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,531,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,701,926. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.13. The stock has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 1.52. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 1-year low of $75.69 and a 1-year high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ANF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.20, for a total value 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 $14,697,070. The trade was a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Helen Mccluskey sold 3,500 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.38, for a total value 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 approximately $5,222,568.60. This represents a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,072 shares of company stock valued at $5,161,597. 2.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.