JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $16.95 Million Stake in Buckle, Inc. (The) $BKE

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Buckle, Inc. (The) (NYSE:BKE) by 376.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 288,920 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 228,260 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.56% of Buckle worth $16,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 94,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,618,000 after acquiring an additional 8,202 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Buckle by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Buckle by 15.3% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 99,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,815,000 after purchasing an additional 13,189 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Buckle by 1,928.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 649 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Buckle by 5.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 900,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,861,000 after purchasing an additional 47,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Buckle

In related news, EVP Kari G. Smith sold 48,860 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total transaction of $2,462,055.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 76,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,867,634.06. The trade was a 38.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michelle Hoffman sold 29,281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.12, for a total transaction of $1,438,282.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 45,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,253,723.84. This represents a 38.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 80,000 shares of company stock worth $3,993,072 over the last ninety days. 39.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Buckle from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Buckle from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Buckle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Buckle Stock Performance

Buckle stock opened at $50.74 on Thursday. Buckle, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.12 and a 52 week high of $61.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.46 and a 200-day moving average of $54.69.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 13th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.08. Buckle had a return on equity of 45.18% and a net margin of 16.16%.The business had revenue of $399.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.45 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. Buckle’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.82%.

Buckle Company Profile

Buckle, Inc is a retailer specializing in casual apparel, footwear and accessories for young men and women. The company is known for its denim-focused collections, offering both private-label lines and curated brand-name merchandise. Its product assortment includes jeans, tops, outerwear, shoes and a variety of accessories such as belts, jewelry and handbags, all aimed at blending contemporary style with everyday comfort.

Founded in 1948 in Kearney, Nebraska, Buckle began as a single clothing store and has since expanded into a nationwide chain.