Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd Buys 75,000 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Key Points

• Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings increased its Nike stake by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 75,000 shares and bringing its total holding to 660,000 shares worth about $42.4 million.
• Institutional ownership remains strong, with large investors like Vanguard, Capital World Investors, Geode Capital Management, and Norges Bank also adding to their positions; institutions now own 64.25% of Nike shares.
• Analysts remain cautious on Nike despite some positive themes around a running-category rebound, with multiple firms cutting price targets and the consensus rating sitting at Hold with an average target price of $60.89.

Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 660,000 shares of the footwear maker's stock after acquiring an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd's holdings in NIKE were worth $42,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in NIKE by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 116,993,541 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $7,453,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702,342 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in NIKE by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 49,069,951 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $3,126,246,000 after acquiring an additional 6,830,938 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in NIKE by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,442,879 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,677,251,000 after acquiring an additional 233,925 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $829,956,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE raised its position in NIKE by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 12,753,317 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $812,514,000 after acquiring an additional 2,886,856 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting NIKE

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Nike’s “running revival,” suggesting improving momentum in its running category could help refresh the growth story and support a longer-term turnaround. How Nike's Running Revival Changes The Nike Stock Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Nike’s World Cup marketing push is aimed at strengthening brand visibility versus Adidas, but it is more of a strategic brand-building effort than an immediate earnings catalyst. Nike's World Cup play: take on Adidas and revitalize the brand
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Philip McCartney sold 17,398 shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards, which is routine but still adds to investor caution around insider activity. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: RBC Capital and other commentators downgraded Nike or reiterated skepticism, arguing the turnaround is progressing more slowly than expected and raising concerns about margins, profit goals, and the pace of operational improvement. Nike (NKE) was downgraded to a Hold Rating at RBC Capital
• Negative Sentiment: Recent market commentary said Nike is “still running in place” and has limited time to prove its turnaround, reinforcing worries that the stock may remain range-bound until fundamentals improve. Nike still running in place as turnaround taking longer than expected — RBC Capital

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on NKE shares. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of NIKE from $69.00 to $57.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. China Renaissance lowered their price objective on shares of NIKE from $74.60 to $50.30 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. UBS Group set a $50.00 price objective on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of NIKE from $54.00 to $51.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of NIKE from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.89.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $803,439.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 53,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,453,681.94. The trade was a 24.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 11,781 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $42.44 per share, with a total value of $499,985.64. Following the purchase, the director owned 55,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,337,340.56. This represents a 27.21% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought 64,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,734,204 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NIKE Price Performance

NKE opened at $44.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $66.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.45. NIKE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.35 and a twelve month high of $80.17.

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

NIKE Dividend Announcement

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 yield of 3.7%. NIKE's payout ratio is currently 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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