Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Buys 7,927 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 30.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,388 shares of the footwear maker's stock after acquiring an additional 7,927 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in NIKE were worth $2,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NKE. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at $1,126,288,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,340,736 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $2,749,903,000 after acquiring an additional 8,898,591 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,367,993 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $1,541,246,000 after acquiring an additional 3,121,929 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 1,302.7% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,602,101 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $196,901,000 after acquiring an additional 2,416,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 24,545,937 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $1,857,389,000 after acquiring an additional 2,288,627 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on NIKE from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on NIKE from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on NIKE from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Dbs Bank upgraded NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on NIKE from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.74.

NIKE Stock Up 0.4%

NKE stock opened at $59.78 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $59.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. NIKE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.28 and a twelve month high of $98.04. The stock has a market cap of $88.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.21.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.26. NIKE had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 9.43%. The company had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NIKE news, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 8,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $58.46 per share, with a total value of $502,756.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 31,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,869,726.18. This trade represents a 36.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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