Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 134,587 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 71.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,259 shares of the company’s stock after selling 134,587 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $2,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 52,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 12,964 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,129,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,704,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,088,000 after buying an additional 195,813 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 1,078.2% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 45,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 29.0% in the third quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP now owns 377,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,065,000 after acquiring an additional 84,873 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BBWI shares. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of BBWI stock opened at $30.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.21 and a 12-month high of $52.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.17.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. As a group, research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication 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.