Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 208,036 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,199,787 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 208,036 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 13.02% of Bath & Body Works worth $1,093,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BBWI. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 81.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 135.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 1.9 %

Bath & Body Works stock traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.20. The stock had a trading volume of 530,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,497,891. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a one year low of $26.21 and a one year high of $52.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The firm's 50 day moving average is $34.95 and its 200 day moving average is $34.17.

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Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last released 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 negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBWI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.06.

About Bath & Body Works

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.