Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 32.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,784 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,964 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $2,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 4.5% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 28,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 68.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $845,000 after buying an additional 10,711 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 18.4% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 33,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 5,203 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 4.2% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 41,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,311,000 after buying an additional 1,645 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 1,842.6% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 175,301 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,596,000 after buying an additional 166,277 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BBWI shares. Citigroup raised Bath & Body Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $46.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price objective on Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 0.5 %

Bath & Body Works stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Thursday, hitting $30.09. 5,286,326 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,103,837. The business's 50 day moving average is $35.96 and its 200 day moving average is $33.96. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.21 and a 52 week high of $52.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.34, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.