LPL Financial LLC Buys Shares of 5,809 Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW)

LPL Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,809 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BBW. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 311.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 18,246 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 13,810 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 2.4% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,695 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop during the third quarter valued at about $282,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings 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 valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 19,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Build-A-Bear Workshop during the fourth quarter valued at about $800,000. 79.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop in a research report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Build-A-Bear Workshop from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBW opened at $34.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $458.20 million, a P/E ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $37.42 and its 200-day moving average is $39.25. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.63 and a 52-week high of $48.23.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.07. The company 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 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 was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 27th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 27th. This is a boost from Build-A-Bear Workshop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Build-A-Bear Workshop’s payout ratio is currently 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.