Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 42.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,869 shares of the footwear maker's stock after selling 3,656 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in NIKE were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 388.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 202,411 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $15,316,000 after purchasing an additional 160,980 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 190,915 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $14,447,000 after purchasing an additional 17,888 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth about $563,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth about $5,643,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 112,842 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $8,539,000 after purchasing an additional 34,934 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chairman owned 842,361 shares in the company, valued at $60,894,276.69. This represents a 11.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NIKE Trading Down 0.7%

NIKE stock opened at $72.50 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $65.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.21. NIKE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $90.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.25.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The footwear maker reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. The company's revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. NIKE's payout ratio is 74.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NKE. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $57.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.15.

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.

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