Royce & Associates LP Sells 11,173 Shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Royce & Associates LP cut its stake in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 234,642 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,173 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Buckle were worth $10,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Buckle in the third quarter worth approximately $473,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Buckle during the 3rd quarter valued at $691,000. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its holdings in shares of Buckle by 10.4% in the third quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 23,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 2,251 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Buckle by 6.0% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Buckle by 2.8% in the third quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 40,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BKE. UBS Group raised shares of Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Activity

In other Buckle news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 24,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.44, for a total transaction of $1,046,825.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,924,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,688,978.84. This trade represents a 1.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brett P. Milkie sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.35, for a total transaction of $661,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 80,170 shares in the company, valued at $3,315,029.50. This trade represents a 16.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 142,931 shares of company stock worth $6,080,458 in the last three months. Company insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Buckle Stock Performance

NYSE:BKE opened at $47.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 1.14. The Buckle, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.63 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 company 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.15%.

Buckle 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.