Ballentine Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 5,071 Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW)

Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,071 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 705.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 346.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,295 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 17.6% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop in the third quarter worth about $230,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Build-A-Bear Workshop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Northland Securities boosted their target price on Build-A-Bear Workshop from $38.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Build-A-Bear Workshop from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of BBW opened at $42.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $573.83 million, a P/E ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 1.49. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.42 and a twelve month high of $48.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.65 and a 200 day moving average of $35.09.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a return on equity of 38.35% and a net margin of 10.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Build-A-Bear Workshop

In related news, CAO Eric R. Fencl sold 9,074 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.28, for a total transaction of $365,500.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 128,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,156,001.12. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider J. Christopher Hurt sold 12,635 shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.53, for a total transaction of $499,461.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,386 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,228.58. This represents a 20.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 175,713 shares of company stock worth $7,580,622. Insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Company Profile

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.