Boston Partners Sells 787 Shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW)

Boston Partners reduced its position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,960 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 787 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned 0.45% of Build-A-Bear Workshop worth $2,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $306,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its holdings in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 1.5% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 98,581 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,409 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 296.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,880 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after acquiring an additional 35,049 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 25.9% during the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 732,911 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,187,000 after acquiring an additional 150,619 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop in the third quarter worth $253,000. 79.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Northland Securities lifted their target price on Build-A-Bear Workshop from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop in a research note on Friday, March 14th.

Insider Transactions at Build-A-Bear Workshop

In other Build-A-Bear Workshop news, CFO Vojin Todorovic sold 5,000 shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.08, for a total transaction of $200,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 70,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,455.60. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider J. Christopher Hurt sold 6,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.91, for a total transaction of $247,841.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,723,154.16. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 161,666 shares of company stock valued at $7,010,081 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Price Performance

Shares of BBW opened at $37.39 on Friday. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.63 and a 1 year high of $48.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.43. The firm has a market cap of $502.47 million, a PE ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 1.50.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $150.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $147.53 million. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a return on equity of 38.35% and a net margin of 10.58%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Build-A-Bear Workshop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 27th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s payout ratio is presently 23.10%.

About Build-A-Bear Workshop

Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc operates as a multi-channel retailer of plush animals and related products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Direct-to-Consumer, Commercial, and International Franchising. Its merchandise comprises various styles of plush products to be stuffed, pre-stuffed plush products, and sounds and scents that can be added to the stuffed animals, as well as range of clothing, shoes and accessories, and other toy and novelty items, including family sleepwear.