Insider Selling: The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) CEO Sells 15,340 Shares of Stock

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 15,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.51, for a total value of $606,083.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,663,035 shares in the company, valued at $65,706,512.85. The trade was a 0.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Buckle Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE BKE traded down $0.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.56. 178,501 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 476,074. The Buckle, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.87 and a fifty-two week high of $54.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $46.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.91.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $2.50 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on BKE. StockNews.com cut Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised shares of Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

Institutional Trading of Buckle

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BKE. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Buckle by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,663,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,518,000 after purchasing an additional 137,972 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Buckle by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,357,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,957,000 after buying an additional 10,178 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Buckle by 5.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,338,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,849,000 after buying an additional 72,532 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Buckle by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,286,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,352,000 after acquiring an additional 69,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Buckle by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 937,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,636,000 after acquiring an additional 100,173 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

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.