Plato Investment Management Ltd Buys Shares of 7,066 The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 7,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BKE. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Buckle in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Buckle by 60.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 938 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Buckle by 268.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 825 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Buckle by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Buckle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John P. Peetz sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.70, for a total transaction of $129,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,143,759.10. This represents a 10.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kari G. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.29, for a total value of $1,045,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,554 shares in the company, valued at $7,872,468.66. The trade was a 11.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 104,542 shares of company stock valued at $5,015,370 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Buckle Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BKE opened at $37.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $46.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.91. The Buckle, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.87 and a 12-month high of $54.25.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a dividend of $2.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a yield of 2.6%. Buckle’s payout ratio is 35.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised 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 research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Buckle 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.