Raymond James & Associates Sells 16,746 Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Raymond James & Associates lessened its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 64.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,098 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 16,746 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 36.7% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $995,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,255 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $804,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC bought a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 27.4% in the third quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 7,142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Fran Horowitz sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.61, for a total transaction of $44,244,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 525,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,127,767.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Kristin A. Scott sold 120,000 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.15, for a total value of $15,138,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,208 shares in the company, valued at $4,819,939.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fran Horowitz sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.61, for a total value of $44,244,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 525,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,127,767.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 558,786 shares of company stock valued at $64,340,812. Insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of ANF opened at $114.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $123.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46 and a beta of 1.58. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 52-week low of $21.74 and a 52-week high of $140.28.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The apparel retailer reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.14. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 38.80% and a net margin of 7.67%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ANF shares. Argus lifted their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $97.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised Abercrombie & Fitch from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 target price (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $100.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.71.

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.