NIKE, Inc. $NKE Shares Sold by National Pension Service

Key Points

• National Pension Service reduced its NIKE stake by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 308,940 shares and ending with 2,810,149 shares valued at about $179 million.
• NIKE reported mixed but slightly better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.35 versus $0.29 expected and revenue of $11.28 billion, with revenue up just 0.1% year over year.
• The company continues to attract insider buying and a mixed Wall Street outlook, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold” with an average price target of $62.04.

National Pension Service cut its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,810,149 shares of the footwear maker's stock after selling 308,940 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.19% of NIKE worth $179,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in NIKE in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in NIKE in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its position in NIKE by 268.6% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co raised its position in NIKE by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 596 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE opened at $46.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.12. The business's fifty day moving average price is $45.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.76. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.35 and a 12 month high of $80.17.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $11.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 4.84%.NIKE's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is 108.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $43.34 per share, with a total value of $173,360.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,777,893.48. This represents a 10.80% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 11,781 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $42.44 per share, for a total transaction of $499,985.64. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 55,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,337,340.56. The trade was a 27.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 64,441 shares of company stock worth $2,734,204. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NKE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim cut their target price on NIKE from $77.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. CICC Research lowered NIKE from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, April 6th. DZ Bank reissued a "buy" rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup cut their target price on NIKE from $65.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "buy" rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.04.

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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