California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 38,891 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 359,715 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,891 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.17% of Bath & Body Works worth $13,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BBWI shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 target price on Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.06.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

NYSE:BBWI traded down $2.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $27.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,338,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,614,912. The company has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.96 and a 1-year high of $52.99. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $33.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.03.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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.