The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 534 Shares of The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,403 shares of the company’s stock after selling 534 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Buckle were worth $884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Buckle in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Buckle by 268.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Buckle during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Buckle by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Buckle by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Buckle in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Buckle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BKE opened at $39.68 on Thursday. The Buckle, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.12 and a 1-year high of $54.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $36.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.59.

Buckle (NYSE:BKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 14th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.09. Buckle had a return on equity of 44.11% and a net margin of 16.21%. The company had revenue of $379.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $378.97 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. Buckle’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Buckle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.08%.

Insider Activity at Buckle

In related news, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 1.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 55,558 shares of company stock valued at $2,159,719 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

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.