Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 1,025,757 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 723.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,167,554 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,025,757 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.52% of Bath & Body Works worth $37,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,398,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,370,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102,124 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 15.8% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 11,315,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,871,000 after buying an additional 1,547,399 shares in the last quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the second quarter worth $113,995,000. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 10.0% during the second quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 2,088,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,564,000 after acquiring an additional 189,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 5.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,448,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,443,000 after acquiring an additional 76,183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $60.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America reduced 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gina Boswell purchased 6,000 shares of Bath & Body Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $29.64 per share, with a total value of $177,840.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,202,134.68. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BBWI opened at $29.94 on Friday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.20 and a 12 month high of $52.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.72, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $30.77 and its 200 day moving average is $38.11.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its 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. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 41.94% and a net margin of 12.69%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Bath & Body Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.62%.

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.