Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 683,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,491,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.32% of Bath & Body Works at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5,270.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BBWI. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bath & Body Works has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.06.

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Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

BBWI stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.97. The stock had a trading volume of 4,037,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,083,325. The stock has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 7.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.99. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.21 and a 52-week high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Bath & Body Works's payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works 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.