NIKE, Inc. $NKE Position Increased by Central Securities Corp

Key Points

• Central Securities Corp boosted its NIKE stake by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 50,000 more shares and bringing its total holding to 500,000 shares worth about $31.9 million.
• Several other institutional investors also raised their NIKE positions, and institutions now own 64.25% of the company’s stock.
• NIKE shares were down 4.8% to $43.72, even after the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.35, beating estimates, while analysts currently rate the stock Hold on average with a $62.04 price target.

Central Securities Corp increased its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 500,000 shares of the footwear maker's stock after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. NIKE accounts for 2.6% of Central Securities Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Central Securities Corp's holdings in NIKE were worth $31,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,785,365 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $113,746,000 after purchasing an additional 334,690 shares during the last quarter. Beaton Management Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Beaton Management Co. Inc. now owns 16,121 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 91.9% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,885 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,860 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,789,888 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $177,744,000 after purchasing an additional 62,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 731,159 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $46,582,000 after purchasing an additional 107,282 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other news, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 11,781 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $42.44 per share, with a total value of $499,985.64. Following the purchase, the director owned 55,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,337,340.56. This represents a 27.21% 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. Also, CEO Elliott Hill acquired 23,660 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $42.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,108.20. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 265,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,211,990.69. This represents a 9.79% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased a total of 64,441 shares of company stock worth $2,734,204 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NIKE Stock Down 4.8%

Shares of NIKE stock opened at $43.72 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $45.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $64.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. NIKE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.35 and a 1-year high of $80.17.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 4.84%.The firm had revenue of $11.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. NIKE's payout ratio is currently 108.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NKE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on NIKE from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $55.00 target price (down from $73.00) on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on NIKE from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. DA Davidson downgraded NIKE from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $72.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.04.

NIKE Company Profile

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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