Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 328.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 about 0.49% of Bath & Body Works worth $34,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Anomaly Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the second quarter worth approximately $113,995,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,501,828 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 9,023.5% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,701,813 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683,160 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,483,000. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 15.8% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 11,315,515 shares of the company's stock worth $441,871,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547,399 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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, for a total transaction of $177,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,202,134.68. The trade was a 2.53 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 0.3 %

Bath & Body Works stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.09. 981,140 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,951,919. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $33.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.16. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a one year low of $26.20 and a one year high of $52.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.83.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BBWI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group cut their price target on Bath & Body Works from $52.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America cut their target price on Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $60.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.50.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

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.