Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $8.21 Million Stock Holdings in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 161,636 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of Buckle worth $8,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BKE. Monument Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Buckle by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 8,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 2,419 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Buckle by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Buckle by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 11,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Buckle by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Buckle in the 4th quarter valued at $110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kari G. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.29, for a total transaction of $1,045,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,872,468.66. This trade represents a 11.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dennis H. Nelson sold 20,453 shares of Buckle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.86, for a total value of $835,709.58. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,678,375 shares in the company, valued at $68,578,402.50. This trade represents a 1.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 124,995 shares of company stock worth $6,103,061. Corporate insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BKE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Buckle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Buckle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

Buckle Stock Performance

Shares of BKE opened at $40.04 on Friday. The Buckle, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.87 and a 52 week high of $54.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.00 and a 200-day moving average of $45.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.14.

Buckle Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a $2.50 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. Buckle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.53%.

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.