Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 4,345 Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW)

Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,345 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BBW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 322.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 24,935 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 19,038 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop during the 4th quarter valued at about $800,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 34.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 372,168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,863,000 after buying an additional 94,986 shares in the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP grew its stake 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 buying an additional 150,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop during the third quarter worth approximately $282,000. Institutional investors own 79.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sharon Price John sold 68,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.06, for a total transaction of $3,171,645.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,020,589.20. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vojin Todorovic sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.55, for a total transaction of $623,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,695 shares in the company, valued at $3,145,127.25. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 161,666 shares of company stock valued at $7,010,081 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Price Performance

BBW stock opened at $38.46 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.59. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.63 and a fifty-two week high of $48.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $516.94 million, a PE ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 1.50.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $150.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $147.53 million. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a return on equity of 38.35% and a net margin of 10.58%. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s payout ratio is currently 23.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on BBW. StockNews.com lowered Build-A-Bear Workshop from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. DA Davidson restated 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. Finally, Northland Securities upped their price target on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

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.