Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) Shares Sold by Makaira Partners LLC

Makaira Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,262,506 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,200 shares during the period. Bath & Body Works comprises about 13.7% of Makaira Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Makaira Partners LLC’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $87,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BBWI. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Bath & Body Works by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Northwest Bank & Trust Co raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co now owns 14,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on BBWI. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.69.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock opened at $29.61 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $31.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.22, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.96 and a 52 week high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors 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 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.