MetLife Investment Management LLC Acquires 116,420 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. $BBWI

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Bath & Body Works, acquiring 116,420 shares and raising its holdings by 3,023.1%, bringing its total to approximately 120,271 shares.
• Bath & Body Works reported a net margin of 9.88% with earnings per share matching analysts' expectations at $0.37, although revenue decreased by 0.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.7%, scheduled to be paid on September 5th.

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 3,023.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,271 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 116,420 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Bath & Body Works worth $3,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BBWI. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the first quarter valued at about $69,000. 95.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

NYSE BBWI opened at $29.23 on Friday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.94 and a 52-week high of $41.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.78. The company has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 8.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.54.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 9.88% and a negative return on equity of 48.43%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Bath & Body Works has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.370-0.45 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 3.350-3.600 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bath & Body Works from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.62.

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.

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