Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Holdings in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has significantly reduced its holdings in NIKE, Inc. by 44.8%, after selling nearly 2.75 million shares, now owning about 3.39 million shares valued at approximately $215 million.
• In addition to Alliancebernstein, several other hedge funds have altered their investments in NIKE, with a notable 64.25% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• NIKE's Chairman, Mark G. Parker, sold over 86,000 shares recently, decreasing his ownership stake by 10.36%, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share.

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 44.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,390,436 shares of the footwear maker's stock after selling 2,748,486 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.23% of NIKE worth $215,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NKE. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in NIKE by 4.4% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 9,872 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,081,021 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $460,160,000 after acquiring an additional 463,470 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,008,340 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $69,932,000 after acquiring an additional 5,601 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 52,370 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $3,963,000 after purchasing an additional 8,792 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 75.1% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 539,650 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $40,835,000 after purchasing an additional 231,417 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.93, for a total transaction of $6,535,902.54. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 744,988 shares in the company, valued at $56,566,938.84. This represents a 10.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NIKE Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NKE stock traded down $0.95 on Tuesday, hitting $73.21. The stock had a trading volume of 3,704,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,253,180. The company's 50 day moving average price is $75.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.83. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $90.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.24.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The footwear maker reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.69 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 23.33% and a net margin of 6.95%.NIKE's revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. Analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on NKE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of NIKE from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Monday, July 28th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of NIKE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $76.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.22.

About NIKE

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.