California State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 73,791,103 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 4,052.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 75,611,801 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,791,103 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.05% of NIKE worth $3,103,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NIKE by 108.4% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 548 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in NIKE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting NIKE

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders approved an expanded employee stock purchase plan adopted by NIKE’s board in July. The plan could support employee retention, although the potential for additional share issuance may limit its benefit to existing investors. Nike Shareholders Approve Expanded Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary argues that NIKE’s underlying business is not fundamentally broken and that its depressed valuation and dividend yield could appeal to long-term investors, though a turnaround remains necessary. Nike: The Sentiment Is Bleak, But The Underlying Business Is Not Broken
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley warned that the pain may not be over, citing persistent operating weakness, disappointing share performance and NIKE’s imminent removal from the S&P 100. Morgan Stanley Says the Pain May Not Be Over Yet
• Negative Sentiment: BMO initiated coverage with an Underperform rating, pointing to challenges facing NIKE and the broader athletic-apparel market. The new bearish call adds to pressure on the stock. BMO Says Sell Nike Stock
• Negative Sentiment: NIKE is set to lose its S&P 100 membership after nearly 18 years, a high-profile consequence of its severe decline that could reduce index-related demand and reinforce negative sentiment. Nike Loses Its S&P 100 Membership
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts continue to cite shifting consumer preferences, intense competition and NIKE’s broad product and market exposure as structural challenges, leaving investors concerned that a recovery could take time. Shifting Consumer Preferences Continue to Impact Nike and Lululemon

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on NKE shares. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on NIKE from $120.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Berenberg Bank set a $49.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $31.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.12.

NIKE Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:NKE opened at $36.57 on Friday. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.55 and a 1 year high of $76.97. The company has a market cap of $54.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.19 and its 200 day moving average is $45.38.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.09. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 6.70%.The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew Friend sold 2,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.60, for a total value of $102,460.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 82,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,418,064. This trade represents a 2.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy sold 3,671 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.59, for a total transaction of $137,992.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 104,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,941,762.58. This trade represents a 3.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 14,974 shares of company stock worth $600,126 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Profile

NIKE, Inc is a global athletic footwear, apparel and equipment company headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. The company designs, develops and markets products under the NIKE, Jordan and Converse brands, serving athletes and consumers across a broad range of sports and lifestyle categories.

NIKE’s offerings include athletic and casual footwear, sportswear, apparel, accessories and athletic equipment. The company distributes its products through company-owned retail stores, digital platforms, wholesale partners and independent distributors.