Boston Partners Buys New Shares in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 240,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,321,000. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.11% of Bath & Body Works at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 68.0% in the 3rd 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 boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 5,203 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position 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 worth $5,596,000 after purchasing an additional 166,277 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 200.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 33,256 shares of the company's stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 22,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Bath & Body Works by 480.3% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,735 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $46.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 0.7 %

BBWI traded down $0.23 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.19. The company had a trading volume of 4,755,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,260,480. The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 7.85, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a one year low of $26.21 and a one year high of $52.99. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $35.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.01.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management 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.