Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $200.77 Million Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 35.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,178,447 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,360,264 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 2.39% of Bath & Body Works worth $200,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BBWI. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 227.2% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 25,093 shares of the company's stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 17,423 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 17,496.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,516,127 shares of the company's stock worth $80,315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,501,828 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the third quarter worth $1,472,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 3.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,158,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,976,000 after purchasing an additional 40,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Bath & Body Works by 57.2% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 16,059 shares of the company's stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 5,842 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock traded down $0.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,960,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,570,199. The stock has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.41 and a 52 week high of $52.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.13.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on BBWI shares. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $46.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.06.

About Bath & Body Works

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.