Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Stock Position Reduced by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 359,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,891 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $13,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBWI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup upgraded Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBWI opened at $27.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 6.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.45 and a 200-day moving average of $34.13. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a one year low of $25.41 and a one year high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast 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 stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.