Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $17.18, but opened at $17.85. Victoria’s Secret & Co. shares last traded at $17.33, with a volume of 548,357 shares.

Specifically, major shareholder International Pte Ltd Bbrc acquired 542,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.32 per share, for a total transaction of $9,387,440.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 8,695,019 shares in the company, valued at $150,597,729.08. This trade represents a 6.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $38.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $40.00 to $35.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $40.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $47.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $46.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.73.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. Trading Up 3.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. Victoria’s Secret & Co. had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 44.74%. Equities analysts anticipate that Victoria’s Secret & Co. will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Victoria’s Secret & Co.

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,927,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,793,000 after buying an additional 58,981 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 44.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,988,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,090 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,056,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,168,000 after purchasing an additional 137,074 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,035,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,309,000 after purchasing an additional 156,979 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 481.5% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,956,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,256 shares in the last quarter. 90.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. Company Profile

Victoria’s Secret & Co operates as a lingerie, clothing and beauty retailer. It offers bras, panties, lingerie, pajamas, sleep, sport and swim apparel, and beauty products. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Reynoldsburg, OH.