Invesco Ltd. Buys 130,972 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 22.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 711,664 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 130,972 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.33% of Bath & Body Works worth $27,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bard Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Bath & Body Works in the third quarter valued at $412,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 50.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 265,221 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,230,000 after acquiring an additional 89,350 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 328.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,153,000 after purchasing an additional 820,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 161.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE BBWI traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $29.16. 901,841 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,750,920. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 7.10, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.96 and a 52 week high of $52.99. The company's 50 day moving average price is $31.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.81.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBWI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Bath & Body Works from $47.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.69.

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.