First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 137,972 Shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,663,407 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 137,972 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 3.28% of Buckle worth $84,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BKE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Buckle by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Buckle by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 38,166 shares of the company's stock worth $1,939,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Buckle by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 7,131 shares of the company's stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Buckle by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 32,802 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,666,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Buckle by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Buckle Stock Performance

Shares of Buckle stock traded down $0.21 on Friday, reaching $34.88. 354,309 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 452,405. The firm's 50 day moving average is $37.34 and its 200-day moving average is $44.17. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.91. The Buckle, Inc. has a one year low of $33.12 and a one year high of $54.25.

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

Buckle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. Buckle's payout ratio is currently 36.08%.

Insider Activity at Buckle

In other Buckle news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.86, for a total value of $835,709.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,678,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,578,402.50. This trade represents a 1.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 76,011 shares of company stock valued at $3,047,788. 39.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.