Bailard Inc. Buys 4,106 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Bailard Inc. grew its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,919 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 4,106 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $3,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 388.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 202,411 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $15,316,000 after acquiring an additional 160,980 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in shares of NIKE by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 190,915 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $14,447,000 after purchasing an additional 17,888 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,634 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in NIKE by 61.1% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,238 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $775,000 after acquiring an additional 3,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,703 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after buying an additional 4,421 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE opened at $73.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $65.21 and a 200-day moving average of $67.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.25. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $90.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The footwear maker reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.69 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.33%. The business’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. NIKE’s payout ratio is 74.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of NIKE from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of NIKE from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.15.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.29, for a total transaction of $7,951,900.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 842,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,894,276.69. This trade represents a 11.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.