GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd Sells 465,362 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd lowered its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,469,841 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 465,362 shares during the quarter. NIKE comprises approximately 4.2% of GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s holdings in NIKE were worth $262,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Caitlin John LLC raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 117.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 110.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Down 5.4 %

NKE stock opened at $68.02 on Friday. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.17 and a fifty-two week high of $98.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.43.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The business’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. The trade was a 7.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NKE has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup lowered shares of NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on NIKE from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.38.

About NIKE

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.