Prudential PLC Cuts Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC significantly reduced its holdings in NIKE, Inc. by 70.3% during the first quarter, bringing its ownership down to 20,020 shares worth approximately $1.27 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard and Goldman Sachs, have increased their positions in NIKE, with Goldman Sachs raising its stake by an impressive 344.2%.
• NIKE's recent performance showed a decrease in revenue year-over-year but beat earnings expectations, reporting $0.14 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.12.

Prudential PLC reduced its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 70.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,020 shares of the footwear maker's stock after selling 47,424 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in NIKE were worth $1,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in NIKE by 4.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,151,080 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $7,182,831,000 after purchasing an additional 4,957,494 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in NIKE by 344.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 26,698,835 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $1,694,842,000 after purchasing an additional 20,688,013 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in NIKE by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 24,545,937 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $1,857,389,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288,627 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in 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 valued at $1,332,331,000 after purchasing an additional 620,214 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in NIKE by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,690,435 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $1,111,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,641 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.29, for a total transaction of $7,951,900.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 842,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,894,276.69. The trade was a 11.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on NIKE from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Argus raised NIKE to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on NIKE from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.22.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $77.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.69. The company has a market cap of $113.97 billion, a PE ratio of 35.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.27. NIKE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.28 and a 12-month high of $90.62.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The footwear maker reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.69 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 23.33% and a net margin of 6.95%. The business's revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. NIKE's payout ratio is presently 74.07%.

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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