T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,235,086 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 422,973 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 4.73% of Bath & Body Works worth $396,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bard Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works in the third quarter worth about $412,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 265,221 shares of the company's stock worth $8,230,000 after acquiring an additional 89,350 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 328.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,153,000 after purchasing an additional 820,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 161.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on BBWI shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $47.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $37.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.69.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBWI traded down $0.40 on Tuesday, hitting $30.83. 717,435 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,778,178. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.50, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $52.99. The company's 50 day moving average price is $31.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.86.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.78 billion. Research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Profile

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.