Markel Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 445,400 shares of the footwear maker's stock after buying an additional 13,000 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.'s holdings in NIKE were worth $28,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NKE. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in NIKE by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 412 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its position in NIKE by 95.1% in the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 513 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on NKE. Bank of America raised their price target on NIKE from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. HSBC raised NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on NIKE from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NIKE from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NIKE has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.15.

NIKE Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $73.02 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $65.21 and its 200-day moving average is $67.29. The stock has a market cap of $108.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.25. NIKE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.28 and a twelve month high of $90.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

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

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.29, for a total transaction of $7,951,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 842,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,894,276.69. The trade was a 11.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NIKE 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.

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