Schroder Investment Management Group Boosts Stock Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 610.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,508 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 49,415 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group's holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $2,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BBWI. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $73,572,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 79.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,882,047 shares of the company's stock worth $150,507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715,096 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 328.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,153,000 after purchasing an additional 820,379 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at $26,491,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 4,494.7% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 548,237 shares of the company's stock worth $21,255,000 after buying an additional 536,305 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 3.9 %

BBWI traded down $1.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.54. 7,878,161 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,668,576. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $52.99. The stock's fifty day moving average is $32.99 and its 200 day moving average is $33.98. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.78 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $46.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.06.

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.