Bridgewater Associates LP Acquires 357,175 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 121.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 652,002 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 357,175 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.30% of Bath & Body Works worth $25,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBWI. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 135.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 3.9 %

NYSE BBWI traded down $1.12 during trading on Monday, hitting $27.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 743,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,730,332. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.96 and a 52 week high of $52.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.90.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. On average, equities analysts expect 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 approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBWI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $47.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.13.

Bath & Body Works Company 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.