Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Holdings Lowered by River Road Asset Management LLC

River Road Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 109,244 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,660 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $4,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Shell Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 180.0% in the 3rd quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 56,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,904,000 after acquiring an additional 36,222 shares in the last quarter. Pearl River Capital LLC lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 145.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pearl River Capital LLC now owns 31,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,060,000 after acquiring an additional 18,596 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 305.6% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 356,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,404,000 after acquiring an additional 268,913 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,697,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,689,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $868,307,000 after acquiring an additional 67,920 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BBWI opened at $43.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.98. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.30 and a 52 week high of $50.34.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 37.01% and a net margin of 11.82%. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.86 EPS. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bath & Body Works

In other Bath & Body Works news, insider Thomas E. Mazurek sold 4,285 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $209,493.65. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,248,548.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBWI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Barclays lowered Bath & Body Works from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.33.

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.