First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stock Holdings in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP increased its NIKE stake by 30.5% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 397,457 shares valued at approximately $20.99 million. Institutional investors collectively own 64.25% of NIKE.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: NIKE has an overall “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $53.74, while JPMorgan and Bank of America recently cut their targets to $47.
• NIKE reported quarterly earnings of $0.20 per share, beating estimates of $0.11, and revenue of $10.97 billion; however, revenue declined 1.1% year over year. The company maintains a $0.41 quarterly dividend, equating to a 3.8% yield.

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 30.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 397,457 shares of the footwear maker's stock after acquiring an additional 92,993 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in NIKE were worth $20,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its holdings in NIKE by 49,010.4% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 48,054,542 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $3,061,555,000 after purchasing an additional 47,956,692 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth about $829,956,000. Harris Associates L P acquired a new position in shares of NIKE during the 2nd quarter worth about $621,525,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of NIKE by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 49,069,951 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $3,126,246,000 after purchasing an additional 6,830,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. lifted its stake in NIKE by 2,492.4% in the 4th quarter. Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. now owns 4,883,229 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $311,111,000 after buying an additional 4,694,859 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares of NIKE 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on NIKE from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "neutral" rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Bank of America lowered their price target on NIKE from $55.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. DZ Bank reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $45.00 price objective on NIKE and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.74.

NIKE Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NKE stock opened at $43.22 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $43.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $64.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.12. NIKE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.00 and a twelve month high of $80.17.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.09. NIKE had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. NIKE's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.47%.

NIKE Company 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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.