Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Position in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE - Free Report) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 799,078 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 36,472 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.57% of Buckle worth $35,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BKE. Impala Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Buckle by 43.3% in the third quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 365,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,049,000 after acquiring an additional 110,273 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Buckle in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,753,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Buckle by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,100,398 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,589,000 after purchasing an additional 90,190 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Buckle by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 716,090 shares of the company's stock worth $26,452,000 after buying an additional 87,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Buckle by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,338,395 shares of the company's stock worth $58,849,000 after buying an additional 72,532 shares in the last quarter. 53.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on BKE. StockNews.com cut Buckle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Buckle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

Insider Transactions at Buckle

In other news, Director John P. Peetz sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction of $129,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,123 shares in the company, valued at $1,143,759.10. This represents a 10.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.73, for a total transaction of $853,503.69. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,863,452 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,761,851.96. This represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 134,265 shares of company stock worth $6,414,313. Company insiders own 39.80% of the company's stock.

Buckle Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BKE traded up $0.47 during trading on Thursday, hitting $51.73. 382,931 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 410,894. The Buckle, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.87 and a 1-year high of $54.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 1.14. The business's 50 day moving average is $48.41 and its 200-day moving average is $43.25.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.01). Buckle had a return on equity of 44.11% and a net margin of 16.21%. The firm had revenue of $293.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $293.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. Buckle's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $2.50 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Buckle's payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

About Buckle

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.