Sit Investment Associates Inc. Trims Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 58.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,154 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 30,239 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $1,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. JNBA Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 10,045 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Frisch Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in NIKE by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,036 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its position 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 valued at $1,547,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,014 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on NIKE from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on NIKE from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.38.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total value of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NIKE Stock Up 2.9 %

NIKE stock opened at $57.17 on Monday. NIKE, Inc. has a one year low of $52.50 and a one year high of $98.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.96 and a 200 day moving average of $76.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market cap of $84.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.16%.

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.