Generali Investments Management Co LLC Takes $2.20 Million Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 29,113 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,203,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NKE. JNBA Financial Advisors lifted its stake in NIKE by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 10,045 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in NIKE by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,036 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in NIKE by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 20,446 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in NIKE by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,014 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in NIKE by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NKE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NIKE Stock Down 0.6 %

NIKE stock opened at $73.28 on Wednesday. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.62 and a fifty-two week high of $101.92. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $74.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.64. The company has a market capitalization of $108.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted 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 last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

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.