Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 3,007 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,872 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,007 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BBWI. Senvest Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,537,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 227.2% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 25,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 17,423 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 59.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 374,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,959,000 after purchasing an additional 140,221 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 124.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 54,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 30,369 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works in the third quarter worth $735,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of BBWI stock opened at $36.29 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $31.05 and a 200-day moving average of $35.65. The stock has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.79. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.20 and a 52-week high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is presently 19.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BBWI shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down from $52.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their target price on Bath & Body Works from $48.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Monday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About Bath & Body Works

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.