Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Boosts Stake in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 52.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 241,795 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 82,700 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in NIKE were worth $16,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of NIKE during the second quarter worth approximately $835,063,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in NIKE by 3,129.9% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 9,091,426 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $645,855,000 after purchasing an additional 8,809,950 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $621,525,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in NIKE by 66.1% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,157,198 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $863,647,000 after acquiring an additional 4,840,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,838,528 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $825,501,000 after buying an additional 3,518,666 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE NKE opened at $61.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.97. The company has a market cap of $90.42 billion, a PE ratio of 35.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.27. NIKE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.28 and a 1-year high of $82.44.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.16. NIKE had a net margin of 5.43% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The business had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.41 dividend. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is 96.47%.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other news, CEO Elliott Hill purchased 16,388 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $61.10 per share, with a total value of $1,001,306.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 241,587 shares in the company, valued at $14,760,965.70. This represents a 7.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy D. Cook bought 50,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.97 per share, for a total transaction of $2,948,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 105,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,220,155.60. This trade represents a 90.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased a total of 75,079 shares of company stock worth $4,449,887 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NKE has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America cut their target price on NIKE from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday, January 12th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.61.

NIKE Company Profile

Nike, Inc (NYSE: NKE) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman and renamed Nike in 1971, the company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike develops and commercializes products across performance and lifestyle categories for sports including running, basketball, soccer and training, and is known for signature technologies and design-driven product lines.

The company markets products under several primary brands, including Nike, Jordan and Converse, and sells through a combination of wholesale relationships, branded retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels such as company-operated stores and digital platforms (e.g., Nike.com and mobile apps).