Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 197,901 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management increased its NIKE stake by 10.6%, purchasing 197,901 shares during the first quarter and bringing its holdings to 2.07 million shares valued at approximately $109.5 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans cautious: NIKE has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $53.86, while several firms recently lowered their targets and Zacks downgraded the stock to “Strong Sell.”
• NIKE beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.20 EPS and $10.97 billion in revenue, though sales declined 1.1% year over year. The company maintains a $0.41 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 3.9% yield.

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,073,621 shares of the footwear maker's stock after buying an additional 197,901 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of NIKE worth $109,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in NIKE by 108.4% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 548 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 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 a number of recent research reports. Berenberg Bank set a $49.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 3rd. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $120.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of NIKE from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. CICC Research reduced their price objective on shares of NIKE from $58.00 to $44.80 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.86.

NIKE Trading Up 0.9%

NIKE stock opened at $42.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $62.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.89. NIKE, Inc. has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $80.17.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.09. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 6.70%.The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. NIKE's payout ratio is currently 78.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 53,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,453,681.94. This represents a 24.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

About NIKE

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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