Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 83,948 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its stake in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,335,727 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,948 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 2.46% of Bath & Body Works worth $206,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 21,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $829,000 after buying an additional 4,383 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter worth $1,276,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 89,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,468,000 after purchasing an additional 28,186 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the fourth quarter worth $1,919,000. Finally, Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 28,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

BBWI stock opened at $30.19 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.99. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.21 and a 52 week high of $52.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a PE ratio of 7.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is 21.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.06.

About Bath & Body Works

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.