Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI – Get Rating) by 60.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,327 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,293 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $1,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BBWI. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $630,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 4th quarter valued at $121,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 89.1% during the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 77,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,275,000 after purchasing an additional 36,623 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 22,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Bath & Body Works by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 25,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 9,118 shares during the period. 96.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bath & Body Works

In other news, CFO Wendy C. Arlin sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.29, for a total value of $62,221.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 91,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,487,146.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Bath & Body Works from $37.00 to $41.00 in a report on Sunday. 51job reaffirmed a “maintains” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $46.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.45.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BBWI opened at $38.23 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.55. The company has a market capitalization of $8.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.70. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.75 and a 12-month high of $49.55.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 18th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 29.65% and a net margin of 9.67%. Bath & Body Works’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 1st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 25.32%.

Bath & Body Works Profile

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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.