State Street Corp Acquires 94,986 Shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW)

State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) by 34.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 372,168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,986 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp’s holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop were worth $12,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BBW. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 7.4% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 256,979 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,494,000 after acquiring an additional 17,772 shares during the period. De Lisle Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 732,911 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,187,000 after purchasing an additional 150,619 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop during the 3rd quarter worth about $719,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop in the second quarter valued at about $740,000. Finally, Koss Olinger Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Build-A-Bear Workshop during the second quarter worth about $504,000. Institutional investors own 79.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Build-A-Bear Workshop

In other Build-A-Bear Workshop news, CAO Eric R. Fencl sold 17,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $605,453.70. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 137,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,804,583.90. This trade represents a 11.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig Leavitt sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $103,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,232,987.12. This trade represents a 3.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 94,781 shares of company stock valued at $3,414,758. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Stock Performance

NYSE:BBW opened at $45.92 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $617.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.38. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.24 and a 52-week high of $47.01.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 10.58%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, September 11th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 23.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.