Bristlecone Advisors LLC Buys 9,498 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Bristlecone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 103,019 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,498 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $7,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NKE. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in NIKE by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,973 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,025,000 after acquiring an additional 3,963 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc raised its stake in NIKE by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 399,151 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $30,204,000 after acquiring an additional 12,744 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in NIKE by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 38,002 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,876,000 after purchasing an additional 9,259 shares in the last quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth about $1,686,000. Finally, RAM Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth about $1,212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NKE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday. Barclays cut their price target on NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup lowered shares of NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Fifteen 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.62.

NIKE Stock Performance

NKE stock opened at $68.69 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.04. NIKE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.62 and a 52 week high of $107.43. The stock has a market cap of $101.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.01. 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 (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. NIKE’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.38%.

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.