JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Stock Holdings in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE - Free Report) by 20.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,911 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,078 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.37% of Buckle worth $9,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Buckle during the 4th quarter valued at $635,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Buckle by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 55,161 shares of the company's stock worth $2,803,000 after buying an additional 5,983 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 937,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,636,000 after buying an additional 100,173 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Buckle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $766,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Buckle by 442.8% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 190,450 shares of the company's stock worth $9,677,000 after acquiring an additional 155,366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Buckle from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com lowered Buckle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Buckle Trading Up 1.8 %

BKE traded up $0.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $34.58. 381,912 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 449,748. The Buckle, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.12 and a 1 year high of $54.25. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $38.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.45. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 0.91.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 14th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $379.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $378.97 million. Buckle had a return on equity of 44.11% and a net margin of 16.21%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. The company's revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Buckle's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Buckle news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.86, for a total transaction of $835,709.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,678,375 shares in the company, valued at $68,578,402.50. The trade was a 1.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 74,036 shares of company stock worth $2,977,557 over the last three months. 39.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.