Absher Wealth Management LLC Has $29.66 Million Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Absher Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 392,020 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,167 shares during the quarter. NIKE makes up about 3.9% of Absher Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $29,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $642,000. Cacti Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,987,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,384,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 5,745.9% in the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,652 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 8,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC increased its position in shares of NIKE by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 60,642 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 19,991 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other NIKE news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.77.

NIKE Price Performance

NIKE stock opened at $74.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.32 and a 1 year high of $107.43.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

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.