Independence Bank of Kentucky Sells 530 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lessened its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,329 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 530 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in NIKE were worth $252,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NKE. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $642,000. Cacti Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth $9,987,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter worth $5,384,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 5,745.9% in the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,652 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 8,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC raised its holdings in NIKE by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 60,642 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $4,589,000 after acquiring an additional 19,991 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE opened at $76.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 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. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.32 and a 1 year high of $107.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $75.60 and a 200-day moving average of $77.99.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The firm 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 for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America lowered their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. The trade was a 7.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.