NIKE, Inc. $NKE Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its NIKE stake by 1.5% in Q4 to 116,993,541 shares—representing 7.90% ownership and about $7.45 billion in holdings after buying 1,702,342 shares.
• Insider buying picked up recently: Director John W. Rogers Jr. and CEO Elliott Hill bought shares (4,000 and 23,660 respectively), with insiders purchasing 64,441 shares (~$2.73M) over the past three months.
• Mixed fundamentals and market sentiment: Nike slightly beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.35 vs. $0.29) with essentially flat revenue, offers a $1.64 annual dividend (3.7% yield) but a 108.6% payout ratio, while analyst ratings are split (consensus "Hold") and short interest rose ~22.8% to ~56.1M shares.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 116,993,541 shares of the footwear maker's stock after buying an additional 1,702,342 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 7.90% of NIKE worth $7,453,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in NIKE by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 42,239,013 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $2,945,326,000 after acquiring an additional 286,615 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 3.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,561,334 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $875,902,000 after purchasing an additional 404,136 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 42.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,838,528 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $825,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,518,666 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 29.1% during the third quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 8,996,579 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $627,331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,029,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 6.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,841,248 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $616,500,000 after purchasing an additional 546,200 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $43.34 per share, for a total transaction of $173,360.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 41,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,777,893.48. The trade was a 10.80% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Elliott Hill bought 23,660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $42.27 per share, with a total value of $1,000,108.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 265,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,211,990.69. The trade was a 9.79% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders bought 64,441 shares of company stock worth $2,734,204. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

NIKE Stock Up 0.1%

NKE stock opened at $44.74 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $66.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.31. NIKE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.09 and a 1-year high of $80.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $52.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.06. NIKE had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The company had revenue of $11.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.61%.

Key Headlines Impacting NIKE

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "buy" on NKE, keeping institutional-level support for the turnaround thesis and signaling confidence from an influential sell-side shop. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: CEO-level confidence: reports say Nike's CEO personally increased a compensation/skin-in-the-game commitment by $1M, which investors often view as alignment with shareholder interests. MSN
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction to the latest cost actions was initially supportive: NKE ticked up after-hours when the company announced another round of layoffs, suggesting investors see near-term margin/cash-flow benefits. MSN After-hours
• Positive Sentiment: DZ Bank also reaffirmed a buy rating, adding a second endorsement from the sell-side that supports the case for recovery if execution improves. AmericanBankingNews
• Neutral Sentiment: Nike announced roughly 1,400 job cuts (mainly in technology) as part of its "Win Now" efficiency push — a move that should reduce costs but also underscores that the turnaround is still in progress. WSJ
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~22.8% in April to ~56.1M shares (≈3.8% of float), signaling growing bearish positioning and increased potential selling pressure despite a modest days-to-cover ratio (~1.4). (internal short-interest report)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst debate and structural concerns persist: commentary about a potential "generational reset" and multi-year share losses reflects skepticism that execution and product momentum will recover quickly. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure and talent migration (e.g., a former Nike executive named CEO at Lululemon) highlight market-share threats that could weigh on near-term sales recovery. FinancialPost

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "buy" rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on NIKE from $54.00 to $51.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group dropped their target price on NIKE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on NIKE from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.34.

NIKE 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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