Independent Financial Group LLC Takes $1.25 Million Position in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 23,729 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,253,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 49,010.4% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 48,054,542 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $3,061,555,000 after purchasing an additional 47,956,692 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $829,956,000. Harris Associates L P purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $621,525,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in NIKE by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 49,069,951 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $3,126,246,000 after buying an additional 6,830,938 shares during the period. Finally, Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. grew its stake in NIKE by 2,492.4% in the 4th quarter. Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. now owns 4,883,229 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $311,111,000 after buying an additional 4,694,859 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other news, EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total value of $803,439.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 53,133 shares in the company, valued at $2,453,681.94. The trade was a 24.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NIKE stock opened at $43.43 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.12. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.00 and a 52-week high of $80.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.96.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.85 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $72.00 price target on NIKE and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings raised NIKE from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Argus upgraded NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.80.

NIKE Profile

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).