Meritage Portfolio Management Increases Holdings in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its position in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,127 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,183 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management owned approximately 0.05% of Buckle worth $1,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Impala Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Buckle by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 365,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,049,000 after purchasing an additional 110,273 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Buckle in the third quarter worth $691,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Buckle by 4.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 799,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,142,000 after buying an additional 36,472 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Buckle during the third quarter valued at about $1,629,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Buckle by 3.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 155,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,852,000 after buying an additional 5,185 shares during the period. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Buckle Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Buckle stock opened at $46.10 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.74. The Buckle, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.87 and a 12-month high of $54.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 1.14.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $293.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a $2.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKE has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $31.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com raised Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.18, for a total value of $1,087,690.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,781,640 shares in the company, valued at $94,747,615.20. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John P. Peetz sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction of $129,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,143,759.10. This trade represents a 10.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 93,589 shares of company stock valued at $4,869,767. Company insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

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.