New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stock Holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 575,771 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,915 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $24,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 180.0% in the 3rd quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 56,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after buying an additional 36,222 shares in the last quarter. Pearl River Capital LLC boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 145.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pearl River Capital LLC now owns 31,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,060,000 after purchasing an additional 18,596 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 305.6% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 356,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,404,000 after purchasing an additional 268,913 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,697,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,689,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $868,307,000 after purchasing an additional 67,920 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBWI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.73.

Bath & Body Works Price Performance

NYSE:BBWI opened at $46.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.54. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.30 and a 1-year high of $50.34.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 11.82% and a negative return on equity of 37.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Thomas E. Mazurek sold 4,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $209,493.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,248,548.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Company 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.