NIKE, Inc. $NKE is GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s 8th Largest Position

GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd lifted its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,642,400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 692,268 shares during the quarter. NIKE comprises about 5.9% of GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd owned 0.25% of NIKE worth $253,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NKE. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NIKE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of NIKE during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in NIKE by 54.4% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 732 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank grew its position in shares of NIKE by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 750 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NIKE during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Elliott Hill purchased 16,388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $61.10 per share, with a total value of $1,001,306.80. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 241,587 shares in the company, valued at $14,760,965.70. This trade represents a 7.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy D. Cook bought 50,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $58.97 per share, with a total value of $2,948,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 105,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,220,155.60. This represents a 90.12% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 75,079 shares of company stock valued at $4,449,887. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Price Performance

NKE stock opened at $62.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $92.43 billion, a PE ratio of 36.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $63.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.15. 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 $82.44.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.16. NIKE had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 5.43%.The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NKE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 target price on NIKE and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $67.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.61.

NIKE Company 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).