Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 328.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,069,941 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 820,379 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.49% of Bath & Body Works worth $34,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BBWI. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Bath & Body Works in the first quarter valued at about $215,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 5.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the first quarter valued at approximately $451,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 148.9% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 26,484 shares of the company's stock worth $1,325,000 after acquiring an additional 15,842 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of BBWI stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $31.74. The company had a trading volume of 2,169,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,822,841. The firm has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.79. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.20 and a 1-year high of $52.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.02 and a 200 day moving average of $36.77.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 negative return on equity of 41.94% and a net margin of 12.69%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBWI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price (down from $52.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gina Boswell bought 6,000 shares of Bath & Body Works stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.64 per share, with a total value of $177,840.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at $7,202,134.68. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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.