Makaira Partners LLC Has $87.72 Million Stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Makaira Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,262,506 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,200 shares during the quarter. Bath & Body Works comprises about 13.7% of Makaira Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Makaira Partners LLC owned 1.04% of Bath & Body Works worth $87,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company's stock worth $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 fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BBWI. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $47.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on 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 reduced their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.19.

Bath & Body Works Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BBWI traded down $0.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $30.02. The stock had a trading volume of 3,911,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,798,116. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.96 and a 12 month high of $52.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of 7.32, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. The firm's fifty day moving average is $30.80 and its 200 day moving average is $33.81.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. Equities research analysts expect that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

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.