Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 265,221 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 89,350 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $8,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,129,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 19.1% in the third 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 period. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the third quarter worth $2,921,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 328.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,153,000 after acquiring an additional 820,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 18.1% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 266,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,498,000 after acquiring an additional 40,793 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $60.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Bath & Body Works from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.50.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

BBWI opened at $39.27 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.58, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.43 and a 200 day moving average of $34.30. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.20 and a fifty-two week high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.26 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, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.51%.

Insider Activity at Bath & Body Works

In related news, CEO Gina Boswell purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.64 per share, for a total transaction of $177,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,202,134.68. The trade was a 2.53 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.