Insider Buying: NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Director Purchases $191,625.00 in Stock

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

NIKE Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NKE opened at $75.67 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.50. NIKE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.75 and a 52 week high of $107.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a market cap of $113.46 billion, a PE ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.02.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a return on equity of 39.84% and a net margin of 10.60%. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. NIKE’s payout ratio is 49.38%.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Garrison Point Advisors LLC lifted its position in NIKE by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 20.0% in the third quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 768 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 26.3% during the third quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 624 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. boosted its position in NIKE by 1.2% during the third quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 11,430 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 1.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 8,396 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on NKE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lowered their price target on NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.58.

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.