Nwam LLC Raises Stock Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Nwam LLC boosted its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,318 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Nwam LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at about $642,000. Cacti Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,987,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new stake in NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,384,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. raised its holdings in NIKE by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 25,835 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after buying an additional 6,124 shares during the period. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in NIKE by 5,745.9% in the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,652 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 8,504 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total value of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE opened at $79.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $117.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.62 and a 52-week high of $105.57.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The company’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup lowered shares of NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.77.

NIKE 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.