Geode Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Geode Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,595,131 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,744,779 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.64% of Bath & Body Works worth $114,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 15.8% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 11,315,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $441,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,399 shares during the period. Anomaly Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the second quarter valued at $113,995,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 17,496.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,516,127 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,501,828 shares during the period. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 10.0% in the second quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 2,088,703 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,564,000 after purchasing an additional 189,889 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 9,023.5% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,701,813 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,160 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE BBWI traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $38.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,830,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,018,833. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.20 and a 52 week high of $52.99. The company has a market capitalization of $8.33 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.83. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $32.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.41.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gina Boswell bought 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.64 per share, with a total value of $177,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at $7,202,134.68. This represents a 2.53 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBWI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $52.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Bath & Body Works from $60.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.50.

About Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works, Inc operates a specialty retailer of home fragrance, body care, and soaps and sanitizer products. It sells its products under the Bath & Body Works, White Barn, and other brand names through retail stores and e-commerce sites located in the United States and Canada, as well as through international stores operated by partners under franchise, license, and wholesale arrangements.