NIKE, Inc. $NKE Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR reduced its shareholding in NIKE, Inc. by 12.8% in Q2, now owning 86,141 shares worth $6.12 million.
• Analysts have upgraded NIKE with a new average price target of $82.21, with ratings showing three "Strong Buy" and 25 "Buy" recommendations.
• NIKE's recent earnings report beat expectations with $0.49 EPS on revenues of $11.72 billion, marking a year-over-year revenue increase of 1.0%.

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 12.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 86,141 shares of the footwear maker's stock after selling 12,658 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in NIKE were worth $6,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NKE. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 952.6% during the 2nd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 53.1% during the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 441 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target 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. Argus upgraded shares of NIKE to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 6th. HSBC upgraded shares of NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on shares of NIKE and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of NIKE from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.93, for a total value of $6,535,902.54. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 744,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,566,938.84. This represents a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Treasure Heinle sold 4,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.27, for a total transaction of $306,461.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,396 shares in the company, valued at $2,095,052.92. This represents a 12.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

NIKE Trading Up 1.1%

NKE opened at $68.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $72.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.45. NIKE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.28 and a 12-month high of $82.44.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $11.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.96 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 6.23% and a return on equity of 21.16%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.05%.

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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