Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 89,350 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 50.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 265,221 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 89,350 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.12% of Bath & Body Works worth $8,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 5,270.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in Bath & Body Works by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Bath & Body Works in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 480.3% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Bath & Body Works from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (down from $52.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Bath & Body Works from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Bath & Body Works from $54.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.50.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Bath & Body Works stock opened at $39.27 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 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 released its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is presently 19.51%.

Insider Activity

In other Bath & Body Works news, CEO Gina Boswell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $29.64 per share, with a total value of $177,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 242,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,202,134.68. The trade was a 2.53 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.