American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stake in Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA) by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 385,521 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,642 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Vera Bradley were worth $2,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in shares of Vera Bradley by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 75,048 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 14,359 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vera Bradley by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 98,198 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 19,890 shares during the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new position in Vera Bradley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,000. Gate City Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vera Bradley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,281,000. Finally, Fund 1 Investments LLC grew its stake in Vera Bradley by 93.6% during the 4th quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 1,762,471 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $13,571,000 after buying an additional 852,330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Vera Bradley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th.

Vera Bradley Stock Performance

Shares of VRA stock opened at $5.53 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.43. The stock has a market cap of $163.07 million, a PE ratio of 39.50 and a beta of 1.89. Vera Bradley, Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.38 and a 1 year high of $8.35.

Vera Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 11th. The textile maker reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $110.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $129.53 million. Vera Bradley had a return on equity of 2.75% and a net margin of 0.19%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vera Bradley, Inc. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vera Bradley

Vera Bradley, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells women's handbags, luggage and travel items, fashion and home accessories, and gifts. It operates through three segments: Vera Bradley Direct, Vera Bradley Indirect, and Pura Vida. The company offers bag products, such as totes, crossbodies, satchels, clutches, backpacks, baby bags, and lunch bags; accessories, including ID holders, lanyards, wallets, wristlets, eyewear, scarves, hair accessories, and various technology accessories; bracelets, rings, and necklaces under Pura Vida brand name; and travel products consist of rolling luggage, cosmetics, and travel and packing accessories, as well as travel bags comprising duffel and weekend bags.