Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 359,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,891 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.17% of Bath & Body Works worth $13,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BBWI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 81.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BBWI. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price target on Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of BBWI opened at $27.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.13. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.41 and a twelve month high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Profile

Bath & Body Works, Inc is a specialty retailers and home to America’s Favorite Fragrances, offering a breadth of exclusive fragrances for the body and home, including the selling collections for fine fragrance mist, body lotion and body cream, 3-wick candles, home fragrance diffusers and liquid hand soap.