Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 195,813 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,704,625 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 195,813 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $66,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,129,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,467,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,851,000 after acquiring an additional 235,173 shares during the last quarter. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,921,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 328.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,153,000 after acquiring an additional 820,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 1,078.2% in the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 45,144 shares during the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BBWI. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE BBWI opened at $29.75 on Wednesday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.20 and a 12 month high of $52.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 7.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.10.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released 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 net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

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

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.