Man Group plc Sells 87,057 Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Man Group plc cut its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 370,571 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 87,057 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned 0.74% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $55,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ANF. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com cut Abercrombie & Fitch from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. Barclays began coverage on Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Monday, April 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $71.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $135.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James set a $110.00 price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.63.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:ANF traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $79.16. 1,453,393 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,039,992. The firm's fifty day moving average is $74.86 and its 200-day moving average is $111.62. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12-month low of $65.40 and a 12-month high of $196.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 1.47.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.09. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.97 EPS. Abercrombie & Fitch's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership 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.