Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Raises Stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,131 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,698 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after buying an additional 4,440 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the third quarter worth approximately $261,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in NIKE by 4.9% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 11,409 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Hawaii raised its position in NIKE by 69.1% in the third quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 8,876 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,626 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 599.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 797 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $76.65 per share, with a total value 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NKE opened at $66.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.21. The stock has a market cap of $98.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.17 and a 1-year 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.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The business’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NKE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised NIKE from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on NIKE from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Fifteen 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.38.

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.