Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $37.27 Million Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 723.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,167,554 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,025,757 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.52% of Bath & Body Works worth $37,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 131,732 shares of the company's stock worth $5,686,000 after purchasing an additional 17,131 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 11.0% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,700 shares of the company's stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1.1% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 527,415 shares of the company's stock worth $26,381,000 after purchasing an additional 5,738 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the first quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 3.5% during the first quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 48,112 shares of the company's stock worth $2,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BBWI. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $35.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.35.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of BBWI stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $30.38. 5,152,700 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,702,345. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.33, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.77. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $30.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.11. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.20 and a 52 week high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.69% and a negative return on equity of 41.94%. Analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bath & Body Works news, CEO Gina Boswell acquired 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.64 per share, for a total transaction of $177,840.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,202,134.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.