Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Invests $378,000 in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP increased its position in Buckle by 60.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Buckle by 6.8% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 7,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Buckle by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Buckle by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Buckle by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 15,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Buckle news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $1,050,670.61. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,760,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,420,806.19. This trade represents a 1.15 % 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, Director John P. Peetz sold 2,500 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction of $129,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,143,759.10. This represents a 10.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 104,542 shares of company stock valued at $5,015,370. 39.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Buckle Stock Performance

NYSE BKE opened at $39.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 1.14. The Buckle, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.87 and a 52 week high of $54.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.76 and a 200-day moving average of $45.95.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

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.