Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Sells 81,524 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 92.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,980 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 81,524 shares during the quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of NIKE by 388.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 202,411 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $15,316,000 after purchasing an additional 160,980 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its position in shares of NIKE by 49.9% in the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 9,075 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 3,020 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in NIKE by 16.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 505,216 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $32,071,000 after buying an additional 71,877 shares during the period. ING Groep NV grew its position in NIKE by 24.9% during the first quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 227,781 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $14,460,000 after buying an additional 45,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC grew its position in NIKE by 30.9% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NIKE stock opened at $64.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.19. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $82.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.29 and a 200-day moving average of $69.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.28.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.22. NIKE had a net margin of 6.23% and a return on equity of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $11.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. NIKE’s payout ratio is presently 84.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday, September 29th. KeyCorp set a $90.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NIKE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.80, for a total value of $5,577,854.40. Following the sale, the chairman owned 647,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,965,452. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 16,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $62.09 per share, with a total value of $1,002,753.50. Following the purchase, the director owned 21,388 shares in the company, valued at $1,327,980.92. This trade represents a 308.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.80% 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.