Janus Henderson Group PLC Decreases Holdings in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Janus Henderson Group PLC decreased its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 6.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,355,842 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 531,767 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $388,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in NIKE by 77.8% during the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,498 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 2,843 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 79,352 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $4,191,000 after purchasing an additional 20,643 shares during the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 62.6% in the 1st quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 208,477 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $11,012,000 after purchasing an additional 80,300 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Planning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Planning Inc. now owns 73,364 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 1,772.8% in the 1st quarter. Opal Capital LLC now owns 69,275 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $3,659,000 after purchasing an additional 65,576 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Trading Down 2.2%

NKE opened at $42.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $62.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.42. NIKE, Inc. has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $80.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.96.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.09. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 6.70%.The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NKE. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded NIKE from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $47.00 price objective on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $803,439.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 53,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,453,681.94. This trade represents a 24.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NIKE Company Profile

Nike, Inc (NYSE: NKE) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman and renamed Nike in 1971, the company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike develops and commercializes products across performance and lifestyle categories for sports including running, basketball, soccer and training, and is known for signature technologies and design-driven product lines.

The company markets products under several primary brands, including Nike, Jordan and Converse, and sells through a combination of wholesale relationships, branded retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels such as company-operated stores and digital platforms (e.g., Nike.com and mobile apps).