Prudential Financial Inc. Increases Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 732,008 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 52,471 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.34% of Bath & Body Works worth $28,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 18.4% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 33,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 5,203 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter valued at about $735,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 124.8% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 54,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 30,369 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 374,664 shares of the company's stock worth $11,959,000 after buying an additional 140,221 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 227.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 25,093 shares of the company's stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 17,423 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 3.0 %

Bath & Body Works stock traded down $0.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.93. The stock had a trading volume of 3,958,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,484,972. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $35.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.00. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.21 and a 12-month high of $52.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. Bath & Body Works's payout ratio is 21.98%.

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.