Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Increases Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Key Points

• Bragg Financial Advisors Inc increased its stock holdings in NIKE, Inc. by 12.3%, acquiring a total of 64,266 shares worth approximately $4.08 million.
• Analysts hold a generally positive outlook on NIKE, with the company receiving several upgrades, including a price target increase from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to $93.00.
• NIKE announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with a payout scheduled for October 1st, which reflects a 2.1% yield for shareholders.

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,266 shares of the footwear maker's stock after buying an additional 7,023 shares during the quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc's holdings in NIKE were worth $4,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NKE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in NIKE by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,151,080 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $7,182,831,000 after purchasing an additional 4,957,494 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in NIKE by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 45,383,916 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $2,880,971,000 after purchasing an additional 9,043,180 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in NIKE by 344.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 26,698,835 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,694,842,000 after purchasing an additional 20,688,013 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in NIKE by 3.0% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 620,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in NIKE by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,690,435 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,111,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,641 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on NKE shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of NIKE from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of NIKE in a report on Sunday, July 6th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of NIKE from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Argus raised shares of NIKE to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.22.

NIKE Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NKE opened at $76.10 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $72.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.23, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. NIKE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.28 and a 1-year high of $90.62.

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

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. NIKE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 744,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,566,938.84. This trade represents a 10.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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.

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