Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 700 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $1,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 258,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,936,000 after acquiring an additional 56,764 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 46.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 131,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,572,000 after purchasing an additional 41,995 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 4.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,398,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,370,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102,124 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 968.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 190,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,542,000 after buying an additional 172,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 576.9% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 22,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,140,000 after buying an additional 19,431 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 5.4 %

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock opened at $31.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 8.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.77. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.20 and a 12 month high of $52.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $30.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.29.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.69% and a negative return on equity of 41.94%. As a group, analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down from $52.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.35.

About Bath & Body Works

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.