The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,833 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,185 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.31% of Buckle worth $6,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Buckle by 4.5% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,100,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,589,000 after acquiring an additional 90,190 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Buckle by 2.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,341,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,566,000 after acquiring an additional 29,349 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Buckle by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,338,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,849,000 after purchasing an additional 72,532 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Buckle by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,216,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,509,000 after purchasing an additional 48,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Buckle by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 799,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,142,000 after purchasing an additional 36,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Buckle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BKE opened at $48.35 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.15. The Buckle, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.87 and a 1-year high of $54.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.46 and a 200-day moving average of $44.66.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 22nd. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.01). Buckle had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 44.11%. The firm had revenue of $293.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $293.60 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $2.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a yield of 2.6%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Buckle

In other Buckle news, EVP Kari G. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.29, for a total value of $1,045,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,872,468.66. This represents a 11.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Karen B. Rhoads sold 9,500 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total transaction of $490,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 214,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,053,415.07. This trade represents a 4.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 134,265 shares of company stock valued at $6,615,570 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

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.