National Pension Service Raises Position in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,119,089 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 8,511 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.21% of NIKE worth $217,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE in the second quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 54.4% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 732 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank raised its position in NIKE by 36.4% during the second quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 750 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in NIKE during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.80, for a total value of $5,577,854.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 647,615 shares in the company, valued at $41,965,452. This represents a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Elliott Hill purchased 16,388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $61.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,306.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 241,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,760,965.70. This represents a 7.28% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 91,229 shares of company stock valued at $5,452,640. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NIKE Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NIKE stock opened at $61.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. NIKE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.28 and a twelve month high of $82.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.55 billion, a PE ratio of 36.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.67.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.19 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 5.43%.The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NKE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on NIKE from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 price target on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down previously from $70.00) on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $75.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.61.

About NIKE

Nike, Inc (NYSE: NKE) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman and renamed Nike in 1971, the company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike develops and commercializes products across performance and lifestyle categories for sports including running, basketball, soccer and training, and is known for signature technologies and design-driven product lines.

The company markets products under several primary brands, including Nike, Jordan and Converse, and sells through a combination of wholesale relationships, branded retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels such as company-operated stores and digital platforms (e.g., Nike.com and mobile apps).