South Dakota Investment Council Raises Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

South Dakota Investment Council increased its position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,677 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $3,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Darsana Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth $76,050,000. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1,055,015.7% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,276,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276,569 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter worth about $24,721,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 339.0% during the 3rd 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 purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter worth about $13,424,000. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on BBWI. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.73.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE BBWI opened at $45.60 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.40. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 11.82% and a negative return on equity of 37.01%. Bath & Body Works’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bath & Body Works news, insider Thomas E. Mazurek sold 4,285 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total transaction of $209,493.65. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,248,548.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

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.