M&G Plc Has $206.21 Million Holdings in V.F. Co. (NYSE:VFC)

M&G Plc boosted its position in V.F. Co. (NYSE:VFC) by 10.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,729,396 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,344,849 shares during the quarter. V.F. makes up approximately 1.2% of M&G Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. M&G Plc’s holdings in V.F. were worth $206,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in V.F. in the 4th quarter valued at $76,059,000. Jackson Square Partners LLC bought a new stake in V.F. in the 4th quarter valued at $46,646,000. M&G Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in V.F. by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,413,169 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $235,850,000 after purchasing an additional 2,016,470 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in V.F. in the 1st quarter valued at $30,527,000. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in V.F. in the 4th quarter valued at $11,126,000. 86.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard Carucci bought 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.78 per share, with a total value of $344,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 215,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,964,491.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bracken Darrell purchased 75,200 shares of V.F. stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.26 per share, with a total value of $997,152.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 219,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,916,828.72. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Carucci purchased 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.78 per share, with a total value of $344,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 215,130 shares in the company, valued at $2,964,491.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

V.F. Price Performance

VFC traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.82. The company had a trading volume of 8,299,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,756,173. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a PE ratio of -6.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.52. V.F. Co. has a twelve month low of $11.00 and a twelve month high of $20.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.47.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The textile maker reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.04. V.F. had a negative net margin of 11.39% and a positive return on equity of 11.75%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.15) EPS. V.F.’s revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that V.F. Co. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

V.F. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. V.F.’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on VFC. Citigroup raised shares of V.F. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of V.F. from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of V.F. from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of V.F. from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of V.F. from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, V.F. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.19.

V.F. Company Profile

V.F. Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, procurement, marketing, and distribution of branded lifestyle apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and children in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Outdoor, Active, and Work.