Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 83,948 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,335,727 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,948 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $206,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 5,270.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in 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. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in 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. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of BBWI stock opened at $30.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.21 and a 52 week high of $52.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $36.23 and a 200-day moving average of $33.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BBWI shares. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.