Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. $BBW

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs significantly reduced its holdings in Build-A-Bear Workshop, selling 175,690 shares and now owning just 83,723 shares, valued at about $3.11 million.
• Insider transactions included CFO and CEO selling substantial amounts of their shares, decreasing their positions by 12.82% and 10.30%, respectively.
• The company reported a strong quarterly performance with earnings per share of $0.94, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW - Free Report) by 67.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,723 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 175,690 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.63% of Build-A-Bear Workshop worth $3,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop during the first quarter worth about $3,572,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,154,000. Foundry Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 138.1% in the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 115,885 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,307,000 after purchasing an additional 67,205 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop by 11.8% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 482,641 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $17,940,000 after acquiring an additional 50,933 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Build-A-Bear Workshop by 61.9% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 119,046 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,423,000 after purchasing an additional 45,498 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.30% of the company's stock.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of BBW stock traded down $1.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $71.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 229,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 294,103. The firm has a market capitalization of $943.19 million, a PE ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 0.72. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $58.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.88. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.72 and a 12-month high of $75.85.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $124.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.19 million. Build-A-Bear Workshop had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 41.14%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Build-A-Bear Workshop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lesli Rotenberg sold 1,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.52, for a total transaction of $93,927.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at $632,874. This represents a 12.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Vojin Todorovic sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.25, for a total value of $732,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 67,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,980,340.75. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,755 shares of company stock worth $3,023,928. Company insiders own 5.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Northland Securities lifted their target price on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from $64.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $68.00.

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.