Providence First Trust Co Invests $62,000 in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Providence First Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 814 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $62,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Caitlin John LLC lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $79.43 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.32. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.62 and a 1 year high of $105.57. The company has a market capitalization of $117.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NKE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of 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 target on NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NIKE Company 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.