Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,714 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.34% of Build-A-Bear Workshop worth $2,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BBW. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,005 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Northland Securities upped 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. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Build-A-Bear Workshop from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sharon Price John sold 68,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.06, for a total transaction of $3,171,645.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 347,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,020,589.20. This represents a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider J. Christopher Hurt sold 12,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.53, for a total transaction of $499,461.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 161,666 shares of company stock worth $7,010,081. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BBW opened at $40.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $548.76 million, a PE ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.86. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.63 and a 12-month high of $48.23.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last issued its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $147.53 million. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 38.35%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change 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 2.16%. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.