Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA significantly reduced its stake in Bath & Body Works by 78.4%, selling over 4 million shares, leaving them with 1.15 million shares valued at approximately $34.88 million.
• Bath & Body Works reported $0.49 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating expectations, but its revenue of $1.40 billion fell short of the analyst estimates.
• The company recently announced a $0.20 quarterly dividend with a yield of 2.8%, reflecting a payout ratio of 21.33%.

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 78.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,150,498 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,185,229 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.54% of Bath & Body Works worth $34,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 94.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,501 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 44.3% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $122,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:BBWI opened at $29.09 on Thursday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.94 and a 52 week high of $41.87. The stock's fifty day moving average is $29.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.71. The company has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.54.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.02. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 11.10% and a negative return on equity of 47.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Bath & Body Works's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Bath & Body Works's payout ratio is presently 21.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BBWI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $37.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.19.

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.

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