Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Stock Position Raised by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 111.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,345,777 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 710,333 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $42,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 11,315,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,399 shares during the period. Anomaly Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the second quarter valued at $113,995,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 17,496.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,516,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,315,000 after buying an additional 2,501,828 shares during the period. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 10.0% during the second quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 2,088,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,564,000 after buying an additional 189,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Bath & Body Works by 9,023.5% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,701,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,322,000 after buying an additional 1,683,160 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bath & Body Works

In related news, CEO Gina Boswell purchased 6,000 shares of Bath & Body Works stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $29.64 per share, with a total value of $177,840.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,202,134.68. This trade represents a 2.53 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE BBWI opened at $35.90 on Friday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.20 and a 1 year high of $52.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.65. The company has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.79.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. Equities research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down from $52.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.88.

Bath & Body Works Profile

Bath & Body Works, Inc operates a specialty retailer of home fragrance, body care, and soaps and sanitizer products. It sells its products under the Bath & Body Works, White Barn, and other brand names through retail stores and e-commerce sites located in the United States and Canada, as well as through international stores operated by partners under franchise, license, and wholesale arrangements.