Clark Estates Inc. NY Sells 11,348 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Clark Estates Inc. NY trimmed its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 93,652 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,348 shares during the quarter. Bath & Body Works accounts for 0.7% of Clark Estates Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Clark Estates Inc. NY’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $3,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 6.8% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 89,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,863,000 after purchasing an additional 5,706 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works in the third quarter valued at about $343,000. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in Bath & Body Works by 5.3% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 70,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,236,000 after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 328.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,069,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,153,000 after purchasing an additional 820,379 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works by 57.4% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 15,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 5,753 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Trading Down 3.0 %

Bath & Body Works stock opened at $34.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.17. The company has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a PE ratio of 8.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. As a group, analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBWI has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price target on Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.06.

About Bath & Body Works

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.