Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 507,383 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 46.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 574,594 shares of the company's stock after selling 507,383 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.27% of Bath & Body Works worth $17,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 94.7% during 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 first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 109.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 2.8%

BBWI traded down $0.92 during trading on Monday, hitting $31.92. 5,253,374 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,247,971. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.94 and a 12-month high of $41.87. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $30.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.51, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.72.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Bath & Body Works's payout ratio is 21.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBWI has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Bath & Body Works from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (down previously from $43.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.00.

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.