B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Acquires New Shares in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 9,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 328.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,153,000 after buying an additional 820,379 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 266,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,498,000 after acquiring an additional 40,793 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 404.4% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 134,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,295,000 after acquiring an additional 107,868 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 152.7% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 901,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,189,000 after purchasing an additional 544,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 23.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 0.1 %

BBWI stock opened at $30.71 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.44, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $30.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.83. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.20 and a 12-month high of $52.99.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Equities analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 19.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on BBWI shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Bath & Body Works from $60.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.25.

Insider Activity at Bath & Body Works

In other news, CEO Gina Boswell bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.64 per share, for a total transaction of $177,840.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,987 shares in the company, valued at $7,202,134.68. This trade represents a 2.53 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.