American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 126,331 Shares of Buckle, Inc. (The) $BKE

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Buckle, Inc. (The) (NYSE:BKE) by 13.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,063,856 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 126,331 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Buckle were worth $40,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BKE. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Buckle by 515.3% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 294,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,987,000 after purchasing an additional 247,019 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Buckle by 180.6% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 284,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,466,000 after purchasing an additional 183,257 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Buckle during the 1st quarter worth $3,850,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Buckle by 42.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 329,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,630,000 after purchasing an additional 97,679 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Buckle by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,360,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,147,000 after purchasing an additional 74,614 shares during the period. 53.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Buckle Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Buckle stock opened at $55.0480 on Thursday. Buckle, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.12 and a 12-month high of $57.53. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.48.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 23rd. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. Buckle had a net margin of 15.95% and a return on equity of 43.13%. The firm had revenue of $272.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Buckle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on BKE shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Buckle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Buckle from $40.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Buckle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.00.

Insider Transactions at Buckle

In related news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $890,114.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,655,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,034,478.08. This represents a 1.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James E. Shada sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.84, for a total transaction of $498,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 85,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,253,943.68. This trade represents a 10.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 39.00% 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.