American Century Companies Inc. Has $11.94 Million Position in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) by 29.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 307,910 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 70,418 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.14% of Bath & Body Works worth $11,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,025,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bath & Body Works by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Bath & Body Works by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 26,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 8,576 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bath & Body Works during the 4th quarter worth $301,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Bath & Body Works during the fourth quarter worth about $2,150,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.14% of the company’s stock.

Bath & Body Works Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BBWI opened at $30.60 on Wednesday. Bath & Body Works, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.21 and a 12-month high of $52.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.89.

Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.05. Bath & Body Works had a net margin of 12.43% and a negative return on equity of 44.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Bath & Body Works, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Bath & Body Works declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bath & Body Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were 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 was Friday, February 21st. Bath & Body Works’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on BBWI shares. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Bath & Body Works in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Bath & Body Works from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Bath & Body Works in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Bath & Body Works from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bath & Body Works presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.06.

Bath & Body Works Company Profile

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.