Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Buys 14,342 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 261.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,823 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,342 shares during the quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in NIKE were worth $1,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in NIKE during the 2nd quarter valued at $835,063,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in NIKE by 3,129.9% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 9,091,426 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $645,855,000 after acquiring an additional 8,809,950 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the second quarter valued at about $621,525,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 66.1% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,157,198 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $863,647,000 after acquiring an additional 4,840,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 42.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,838,528 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $825,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,518,666 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy D. Cook bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,220,155.60. The trade was a 90.12% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 8,691 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $57.54 per share, for a total transaction of $500,080.14. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 43,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 75,079 shares of company stock valued at $4,449,887. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NKE shares. Barclays restated a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their target price on NIKE from $75.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on NIKE from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $67.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.61.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NIKE stock opened at $63.91 on Monday. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month high of $82.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.24.

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

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.47%.

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).