Vest Financial LLC Cuts Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Vest Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 65.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,256 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 106,168 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $3,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth $136,000. McAdam LLC raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 8.5% in the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 4,907 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Platform Technology Partners raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 1.5% in the third quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 28,030 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE in the third quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. increased its holdings in NIKE by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 62,934 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $4,388,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $65.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $96.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $82.44.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NKE has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down from $70.00) on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, December 19th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on NIKE from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded NIKE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.65.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other news, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 8,691 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $57.54 per share, with a total value of $500,080.14. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 43,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,491,079.22. The trade was a 25.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 16,150 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $62.09 per share, with a total value of $1,002,753.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 21,388 shares in the company, valued at $1,327,980.92. The trade was a 308.32% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 91,229 shares of company stock valued at $5,452,640. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About NIKE

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).