Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 14,567 Shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) by 8.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,636 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,567 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.31% of Buckle worth $6,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Buckle by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Buckle by 0.9% in the third quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 37,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,665,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Buckle by 2.7% in the second quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 13,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Buckle by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 59,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,636,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Buckle by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 14,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. 53.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Buckle Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of BKE opened at $47.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.70. The Buckle, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.87 and a 52 week high of $49.78.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 23rd. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $282.39 million during the quarter. Buckle had a return on equity of 46.17% and a net margin of 16.69%.

Buckle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.15%.

Insider Transactions at Buckle

In other Buckle news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.78, for a total value of $854,526.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,904,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,564,077.24. The trade was a 1.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brett P. Milkie sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.35, for a total transaction of $661,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 80,170 shares in the company, valued at $3,315,029.50. This represents a 16.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 142,931 shares of company stock worth $6,080,458. Corporate insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday.

Buckle Company Profile

The Buckle, Inc operates as a retailer of casual apparel, footwear, and accessories for young men and women in the United States. It markets a selection of brand name casual apparel, including denims, other casual bottoms, tops, sportswear, outerwear, accessories, and footwear, as well as private label merchandise primarily comprising BKE, Buckle Black, Salvage, Red by BKE, Daytrip, Gimmicks, Gilded Intent, FITZ + EDDI, Willow & Root, Outpost Makers, Departwest, Sterling & Stitch, Reclaim, BKE Vintage, Nova Industries, J.B.