Econ Financial Services Corp Acquires New Shares in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Econ Financial Services Corp bought a new position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 18,801 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth about $642,000. Cacti Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,987,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,384,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 5,745.9% during the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,652 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 8,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lifted its position in NIKE by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 60,642 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 19,991 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America dropped their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Price Performance

NKE stock opened at $76.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.12. NIKE, Inc. has a one year low of $70.32 and a one year high of $107.43. The company has a market capitalization of $113.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.01.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

NIKE Company Profile

NIKE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services worldwide. The company provides athletic and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories under the Jumpman trademark; and casual sneakers, apparel, and accessories under the Converse, Chuck Taylor, All Star, One Star, Star Chevron, and Jack Purcell trademarks.