Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Purchases 12,781 Shares of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 412,722 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,781 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Bath & Body Works were worth $16,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Bath & Body Works by 99.7% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Bath & Body Works by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bath & Body Works by 81.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Bath & Body Works by 135.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBWI has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Bath & Body Works from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bath & Body Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $47.00 price target on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBWI opened at $27.11 on Friday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.41 and a 52-week high of $52.99. The company has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 6.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.45 and a 200-day moving average of $34.13.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a negative return on equity of 44.03% and a net margin of 12.43%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Bath & Body Works declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.