Prudential Financial Inc. Lowers Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE – Get Rating) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,392,796 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 9,967 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.09% of NIKE worth $143,382,000 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the 2nd quarter worth about $212,851,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of NIKE by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,040,233 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,427,495,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486,421 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE by 221.5% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,046,445 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $275,368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,409,913 shares during the last quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of NIKE by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,222,897 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $568,233,000 after purchasing an additional 735,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. raised its position in shares of NIKE by 7,196.6% in the 2nd quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 674,858 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $68,983,000 after purchasing an additional 665,609 shares during the last quarter. 64.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NIKE Trading Up 2.8 %

NIKE stock opened at $111.36 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.22 and a 12 month high of $171.19. The stock has a market cap of $174.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.14.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 29th. The footwear maker reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.28 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 37.08%. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 28th. Investors of record on Monday, December 5th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. NIKE’s payout ratio is presently 38.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on NIKE from $128.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on NIKE from $129.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 30th. Wedbush reduced their price objective on NIKE from $121.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 30th. Cowen lifted their price objective on NIKE from $114.00 to $118.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $115.00 price target on NIKE in a research note on Friday, November 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.43.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, EVP Monique S. Matheson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.16, for a total value of $1,081,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 60,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,512,638.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other NIKE news, EVP Monique S. Matheson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.16, for a total transaction of $1,081,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,512,638.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Monique S. Matheson sold 5,882 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.55, for a total transaction of $550,261.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,213 shares in the company, valued at $5,632,926.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NIKE Company Profile

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NIKE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and sells men's, women's, and kids athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories 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.