Marshall Wace LLP Takes Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 16,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,982 shares of the company's stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 99.7% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company's stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

BBWI traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.87. 2,627,768 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,792,148. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $52.99. The company's fifty day moving average price is $30.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.82. The company has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.87.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. As a group, 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Bath & Body Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.88.

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.