Groupe la Francaise Buys 118,287 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise boosted its stake in NIKE, Inc. by 206.1%, acquiring an additional 118,287 shares, bringing their total holdings to 175,692 shares valued at $11.5 million.
• Insider trading activity includes Chairman Mark G. Parker selling 86,078 shares, decreasing his position by 10.36%, amid ongoing institutional interest with 64.25% of the shares held by institutional investors.
• Brokerages have set new price targets for NIKE, with an average consensus target price of $78.22, reflecting a moderate buy rating amidst recent performance updates.

Groupe la Francaise lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 206.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 175,692 shares of the footwear maker's stock after acquiring an additional 118,287 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in NIKE were worth $11,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. AlTi Global Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 36,996 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $2,813,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. raised its position in NIKE by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 15,119 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,666 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Crew Capital Management Ltd. grew its holdings in NIKE by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 13,752 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,387 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NKE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus raised shares of NIKE to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, June 27th. DZ Bank lowered 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of NIKE from $57.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.22.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE stock traded up $0.76 on Monday, reaching $79.14. The stock had a trading volume of 12,481,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,106,631. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm's 50-day moving average is $72.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.27. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month high of $90.62.

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

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.29, for a total value of $7,951,900.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 842,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,894,276.69. This represents a 11.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NIKE Company Profile

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.