NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Shares Acquired by Optas LLC

Optas LLC lifted its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,861 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in NIKE during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its stake in NIKE by 52.6% in the third quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 435 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 52.2% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 493 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the third quarter worth about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. The trade was a 7.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE NKE opened at $76.79 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.32 and a fifty-two week high of $107.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.54 and a 200-day moving average of $78.09. The stock has a market cap of $113.57 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 earnings results 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. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The firm had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. NIKE’s payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Fourteen 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.77.

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.