Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,486,063 shares of the footwear maker's stock after selling 120,407 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of NIKE worth $94,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 110.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 196.4% in the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 412 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 52.1% in the first quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 587 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NIKE Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:NKE traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.28. 12,022,568 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,355,444. NIKE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.28 and a 12-month high of $90.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.42.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The footwear maker reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. NIKE had a return on equity of 23.33% and a net margin of 6.95%. The company had revenue of $11.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. NIKE's revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NKE shares. Argus raised NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on NIKE from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NIKE from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on NIKE from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.19.

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.