Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Acquired by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 74,677 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $3,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BBWI. Darsana Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the third quarter worth approximately $76,050,000. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1,055,015.7% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,276,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,152,000 after buying an additional 1,276,569 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the third quarter worth approximately $24,721,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 339.0% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 638,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,592,000 after purchasing an additional 493,297 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc CT acquired a new position in Bath & Body Works in the third quarter worth $13,424,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE BBWI opened at $45.60 on Thursday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $50.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.40. The stock has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.86.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.21. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 11.82% and a negative return on equity of 37.01%. The business had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.78%.

Insider Activity at Bath & Body Works

In other Bath & Body Works news, insider Thomas E. Mazurek sold 4,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $209,493.65. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,992 shares in the company, valued at $2,248,548.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BBWI. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.73.

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.