Raymond James & Associates Sells 1,721 Shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Raymond James & Associates decreased its stake in shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,721 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Buckle were worth $621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKE. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Buckle by 408.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Buckle by 1,181.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 4,113 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Buckle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Buckle by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 1,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olympiad Research LP bought a new stake in Buckle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $216,000. Institutional investors own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Buckle Stock Performance

NYSE BKE opened at $37.12 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.83. The Buckle, Inc. has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $48.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 15th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.15. Buckle had a net margin of 17.44% and a return on equity of 50.88%. The firm had revenue of $382.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. Buckle’s payout ratio is currently 31.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of Buckle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $37.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Friday, January 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th.

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, Reclaim, BKE Vintage, Nova Industries, J.B.