Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 54,429 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,032 shares of the company's stock after selling 54,429 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $2,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Anomaly Capital Management LP bought a new position in Bath & Body Works in the second quarter valued at approximately $113,995,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 11,315,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $441,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,399 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,398,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,370,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102,124 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 723.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,167,554 shares of the company's stock worth $37,268,000 after buying an additional 1,025,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Interval Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 1,280,593 shares of the company's stock worth $50,007,000 after buying an additional 892,488 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Bath & Body Works news, CEO Gina Boswell purchased 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of BBWI traded up $1.51 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $31.51. The stock had a trading volume of 13,479,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,830,115. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.20 and a 1-year high of $52.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.87.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 41.94% and a net margin of 12.69%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. Equities analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays cut shares of Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Bath & Body Works from $52.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Bath & Body Works from $60.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.44.

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.