NIKE, Inc. $NKE Shares Acquired by Becker Capital Management Inc.

Becker Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 286,414 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,305 shares during the quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $20,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in NIKE by 388.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 202,411 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $15,316,000 after purchasing an additional 160,980 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in NIKE in the first quarter valued at $311,000. United Bank increased its stake in NIKE by 11.3% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 17,067 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 33.7% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,900 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 24.4% during the second quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 16,256 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,161,000 after buying an additional 3,186 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE opened at $61.00 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $80.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.85. The company has a market capitalization of $90.30 billion, a PE ratio of 35.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.27.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.16. NIKE had a net margin of 5.43% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The company had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on NKE shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 price objective on NIKE and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC cut NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $75.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.61.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other news, Director Timothy D. Cook acquired 50,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $58.97 per share, with a total value of $2,948,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 105,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,220,155.60. This trade represents a 90.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 8,691 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $57.54 per share, for a total transaction of $500,080.14. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 43,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,491,079.22. The trade was a 25.12% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought 75,079 shares of company stock valued at $4,449,887 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Profile

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).