NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Shares Acquired by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,535 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,620 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $1,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JNBA Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 10,045 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NIKE by 4.7% in the third quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,036 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake in NIKE by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 20,446 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in NIKE by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,014 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in NIKE by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE Stock Up 0.2 %

NIKE stock opened at $65.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. 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 moving average of $74.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.05. NIKE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.95 and a twelve month high of $98.04.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.16%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This represents a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NKE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on NIKE from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DA Davidson raised shares of NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup lowered NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $102.00 to $72.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on NIKE from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.38.

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.