Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Has $9.63 Million Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management sharply increased its NIKE stake by 1,622.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 157,292 shares valued at about $9.63 million.
• Wall Street’s view on NIKE remains mixed: analysts currently rate the stock Hold on average, with an average price target of $60.89, while individual firms have recently cut targets and issued a range of Buy, Hold, and Sell ratings.
• NIKE reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.35 per share and revenue of $11.28 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share payable on July 1.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 1,622.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 157,292 shares of the footwear maker's stock after acquiring an additional 148,160 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in NIKE were worth $9,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of NIKE by 4.2% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,441 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC increased its position in NIKE by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in NIKE by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,978 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. increased its position in NIKE by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. now owns 5,868 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ANB Bank increased its position in NIKE by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. ANB Bank now owns 25,451 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,621,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on NIKE from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $45.00 price target on NIKE and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on NIKE from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on NIKE from $69.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised NIKE from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.89.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $803,439.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 53,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,453,681.94. This represents a 24.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 11,781 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $42.44 per share, for a total transaction of $499,985.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 55,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,337,340.56. This represents a 27.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 64,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,734,204. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NIKE Stock Down 0.3%

NKE opened at $45.06 on Wednesday. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.35 and a fifty-two week high of $80.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.14. The company has a market capitalization of $66.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.30 and a 200-day moving average of $55.14.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.06. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 4.84%.The company had revenue of $11.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.61%.

NIKE Company Profile

Nike, Inc NYSE: NKE is a global designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman and renamed Nike in 1971, the company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike develops and commercializes products across performance and lifestyle categories for sports including running, basketball, soccer and training, and is known for signature technologies and design-driven product lines.

The company markets products under several primary brands, including Nike, Jordan and Converse, and sells through a combination of wholesale relationships, branded retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels such as company-operated stores and digital platforms (e.g., Nike.com and mobile apps).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.