Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 331.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,144,608 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 879,387 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.53% of Bath & Body Works worth $44,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BBWI. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 227.2% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 25,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 17,423 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 17,496.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,516,127 shares of the company's stock worth $80,315,000 after buying an additional 2,501,828 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 57.2% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 16,059 shares of the company's stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 5,842 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,121,520 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,799,000 after acquiring an additional 559,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 12.0% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 20,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $658,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BBWI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.06.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Bath & Body Works stock traded down $2.71 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $27.30. 1,518,928 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,615,770. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.96 and a 1 year high of $52.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.03.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works's payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has approved a share buyback 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 often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Company 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.