QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 1,917 Shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,581 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,917 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Buckle were worth $1,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised 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 purchasing an additional 72,532 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Buckle by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,216,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,509,000 after buying an additional 48,436 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Buckle by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 799,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,142,000 after buying an additional 36,472 shares in the last quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Buckle by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 365,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,049,000 after buying an additional 110,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Buckle by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 161,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,213,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Buckle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BKE opened at $39.00 on Tuesday. The Buckle, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.87 and a 52-week high of $54.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.95.

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 payout ratio is 35.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Buckle

In other news, EVP Kari G. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.29, for a total value of $1,045,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,872,468.66. This represents a 11.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.86, for a total transaction of $835,709.58. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,678,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,578,402.50. The trade was a 1.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 104,542 shares of company stock worth $5,015,370. 39.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.