Aberdeen Group plc Raises Position in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its holding in NIKE, Inc. by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, owning approximately 1.86 million shares valued at $132.66 million.
• NIKE's latest quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.49, surpassing the estimated $0.27, with revenues of $11.72 billion.
• Insider transactions include significant share sales by EVP Treasure Heinle and Chairman Mark G. Parker, indicating potential shifts in insider sentiment regarding the stock.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,858,784 shares of the footwear maker's stock after acquiring an additional 97,612 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.13% of NIKE worth $132,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NKE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NIKE by 4.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,151,080 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $7,182,831,000 after buying an additional 4,957,494 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in NIKE by 24.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 45,383,916 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $2,880,971,000 after buying an additional 9,043,180 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NIKE by 344.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 26,698,835 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,694,842,000 after buying an additional 20,688,013 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in NIKE by 3.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,988,207 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,332,331,000 after buying an additional 620,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE boosted its holdings in NIKE by 24.0% during the first quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 10,286,619 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $652,995,000 after buying an additional 1,988,547 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE stock opened at $65.25 on Friday. NIKE, Inc. has a one year low of $52.28 and a one year high of $84.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $73.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.29.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company 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 earned $0.70 earnings per share. NIKE's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is 82.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other NIKE news, EVP Treasure Heinle sold 4,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.27, for a total transaction of $306,461.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,396 shares in the company, valued at $2,095,052.92. This represents a 12.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.29, for a total transaction of $7,951,900.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 842,361 shares in the company, valued at $60,894,276.69. This trade represents a 11.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 200,378 shares of company stock valued at $14,794,264 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on NKE shares. KeyCorp set a $90.00 price objective on shares of NIKE and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $68.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.57.

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.

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