QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 35.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 105,349 shares of the footwear maker's stock after buying an additional 27,448 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in NIKE were worth $6,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 8,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $58.46 per share, for a total transaction of $502,756.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 31,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,869,726.18. This trade represents a 36.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NIKE Stock Performance

NIKE stock opened at $60.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.42. NIKE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.28 and a 1-year high of $98.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market cap of $88.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.21.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.26. NIKE had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 32.18%. The business had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $70.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.93.

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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