Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires Shares of 77,442 NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 77,442 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $5,860,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Caitlin John LLC raised its position in NIKE by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in NIKE in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in shares of NIKE by 110.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NKE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price on NIKE from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. 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 report on Monday, December 2nd. Dbs Bank raised NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup lowered NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.54.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $73.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.64. The company has a market cap of $108.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.62 and a 12-month high of $101.92.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The business’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

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.