NIKE, Inc. $NKE Stake Lowered by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Key Points

• Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in NIKE, Inc. by 19.7%, owning 86,532 shares worth $6.1 million at the end of the reporting period.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard and Goldman Sachs, increased their positions in NIKE during the first quarter, highlighting a growing institutional interest in the company.
• NIKE announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a yield of 2.5%, with a payout ratio of 82.05%.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 19.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,532 shares of the footwear maker's stock after selling 21,254 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in NIKE were worth $6,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in NIKE by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,151,080 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $7,182,831,000 after buying an additional 4,957,494 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 24.9% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 45,383,916 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $2,880,971,000 after acquiring an additional 9,043,180 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 344.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 26,698,835 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $1,694,842,000 after acquiring an additional 20,688,013 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 3.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,988,207 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,332,331,000 after buying an additional 620,214 shares during the period. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 24.0% in the first quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 10,286,619 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $652,995,000 after buying an additional 1,988,547 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NKE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC raised NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Cowen raised NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Argus raised shares of NIKE to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Treasure Heinle sold 4,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.27, for a total value of $306,461.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,095,052.92. This trade represents a 12.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 842,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,894,276.69. This represents a 11.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 200,378 shares of company stock worth $14,794,264. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

NIKE Price Performance

NYSE NKE opened at $65.25 on Monday. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $84.76. The stock's 50-day moving average is $73.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market cap of $96.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.29.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.22. NIKE had a return on equity of 21.16% and a net margin of 6.23%.The company had revenue of $11.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. NIKE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.05%.

About NIKE

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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