Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Buys Shares of 49,500 Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position 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 and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 49,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,919,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBWI. FMR LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,501,828 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 9,023.5% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,701,813 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,322,000 after buying an additional 1,683,160 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,483,000. Senvest Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,537,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 328.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,153,000 after buying an additional 820,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBWI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $46.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.06.

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Bath & Body Works Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock traded up $0.26 on Wednesday, hitting $30.24. 5,886,936 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,092,079. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.99. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.21 and a 1-year high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts' expectations of $2.78 billion. Research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

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

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works 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.