Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,487,642 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 172,080 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in NIKE were worth $349,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NKE. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new stake in NIKE during the third quarter worth $35,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in NIKE by 268.6% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Trust Co lifted its holdings in NIKE by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 596 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim dropped their price target on NIKE from $77.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on NIKE from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $55.00 target price (down from $73.00) on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. China Renaissance decreased their target price on NIKE from $74.60 to $50.30 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on NIKE from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy D. Cook purchased 25,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $42.43 per share, for a total transaction of $1,060,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 130,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,536,266.40. This trade represents a 23.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Elliott Hill purchased 23,660 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $42.27 per share, with a total value of $1,000,108.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 265,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,211,990.69. This represents a 9.79% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought 64,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,734,204 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Key NIKE News

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Nike’s “running revival,” suggesting improving momentum in its running category could help refresh the growth story and support a longer-term turnaround. How Nike’s Running Revival Changes The Nike Stock Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Nike’s World Cup marketing push is aimed at strengthening brand visibility versus Adidas, but it is more of a strategic brand-building effort than an immediate earnings catalyst. Nike’s World Cup play: take on Adidas and revitalize the brand
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Philip McCartney sold 17,398 shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards, which is routine but still adds to investor caution around insider activity. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: RBC Capital and other commentators downgraded Nike or reiterated skepticism, arguing the turnaround is progressing more slowly than expected and raising concerns about margins, profit goals, and the pace of operational improvement. Nike (NKE) was downgraded to a Hold Rating at RBC Capital
• Negative Sentiment: Recent market commentary said Nike is “still running in place” and has limited time to prove its turnaround, reinforcing worries that the stock may remain range-bound until fundamentals improve. Nike still running in place as turnaround taking longer than expected — RBC Capital

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $44.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $66.49 billion, a PE ratio of 29.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.12. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.35 and a fifty-two week high of $80.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.26 and a 200-day moving average of $55.45.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $11.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 4.84%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. NIKE’s payout ratio is 108.61%.

NIKE 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).