AlphaQuest LLC Sells 4,345 Shares of Buckle, Inc. (The) $BKE

AlphaQuest LLC trimmed its position in shares of Buckle, Inc. (The) (NYSE:BKE) by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,287 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,345 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Buckle worth $1,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BKE. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 3,732.0% during the first quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC now owns 671,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,722,000 after purchasing an additional 653,734 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 13.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,063,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,767,000 after purchasing an additional 126,331 shares in the last quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Buckle by 37.1% during the first quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 432,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,571,000 after purchasing an additional 116,833 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Buckle in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,850,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Buckle by 42.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 329,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,630,000 after buying an additional 97,679 shares during the period. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Buckle Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of BKE stock opened at $55.73 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $57.37 and a 200-day moving average of $48.19. Buckle, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.12 and a 12-month high of $61.69. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93 and a beta of 1.06.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 22nd. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.06. Buckle had a net margin of 16.12% and a return on equity of 43.97%. The company had revenue of $305.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BKE shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Buckle from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Buckle in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Buckle

In other Buckle news, SVP Brett P. Milkie sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.17, for a total value of $361,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 89,570 shares in the company, valued at $5,389,426.90. This trade represents a 6.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James E. Shada sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.49, for a total transaction of $1,189,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 55,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,292,890.48. This represents a 26.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,500 shares of company stock worth $2,821,630 in the last three months. 39.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Buckle Company 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.