Cerity Partners LLC Has $1.29 Million Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 40.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,145 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,052 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $1,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BBWI. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,572,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 79.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,882,047 shares of the company's stock worth $150,507,000 after buying an additional 1,715,096 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,178,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,768,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360,264 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 331.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,144,608 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,376,000 after acquiring an additional 879,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in 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 worth $34,153,000 after acquiring an additional 820,379 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 4.5 %

BBWI stock traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,096,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,193,728. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.85. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.96 and a 52 week high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Bath & Body Works's payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Bath & Body Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.69.

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.