Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Grows Position in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital dramatically increased its NIKE stake by 2,501.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1.86 million shares worth about $118.6 million. Other institutional investors also added to or initiated positions, and institutions now hold 64.25% of the company.
• Insider activity was mixed: Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 11,781 shares, while EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to equity awards.
• NIKE recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.35 per share on revenue of $11.28 billion, both slightly ahead of estimates. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, equal to a 3.6% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average target price of $60.89.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 2,501.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,861,537 shares of the footwear maker's stock after buying an additional 1,789,974 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.13% of NIKE worth $118,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Westerkirk Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc. now owns 131,220 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $8,360,000 after purchasing an additional 45,100 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP purchased a new position in NIKE in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,200,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at $43,188,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in NIKE in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,743,000. Finally, Nicholas Company Inc. increased its stake in NIKE by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 123,652 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $7,878,000 after buying an additional 30,890 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other NIKE news, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 11,781 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $42.44 per share, with a total value of $499,985.64. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 55,074 shares in the company, valued at $2,337,340.56. This trade represents a 27.21% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares of the firm'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 sale, the executive vice president owned 53,133 shares in the company, valued at $2,453,681.94. This trade represents a 24.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 have acquired 64,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,734,204 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NKE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "buy" rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Evercore lowered their price objective on NIKE from $69.00 to $57.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, DZ Bank reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.89.

NIKE Stock Up 0.6%

NKE stock opened at $45.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $44.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.27. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.35 and a 12 month high of $80.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.94 billion, a PE ratio of 29.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $11.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 4.84%.NIKE's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is presently 108.61%.

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).

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