Bank of New York Mellon Corp Purchases 78,629 Shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) by 77.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 180,045 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 78,629 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.34% of Build-A-Bear Workshop worth $8,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BBW. De Lisle Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 25.9% in the 3rd 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 period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 372,168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,863,000 after acquiring an additional 94,986 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 261.3% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 105,847 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,638,000 after acquiring an additional 76,551 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 296.2% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop during the 3rd quarter valued at about $719,000. Institutional investors own 79.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Build-A-Bear Workshop

In other news, CEO Sharon Price John sold 68,859 shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.06, for a total value of $3,171,645.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,820 shares in the company, valued at $16,020,589.20. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider J. Christopher Hurt sold 12,635 shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,228.58. This represents a 20.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Build-A-Bear Workshop Stock Performance

NYSE:BBW opened at $36.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $489.48 million, a P/E ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 1.50. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.63 and a fifty-two week high of $48.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.19.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $150.45 million during 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from Build-A-Bear Workshop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 27th. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.28%.

Build-A-Bear Workshop 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.