Ransom Advisory Ltd Buys New Shares in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Key Points

• Ransom Advisory Ltd has acquired 25,297 shares of NIKE, Inc., valued at approximately $1.61 million, highlighting continued interest from institutional investors.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded NIKE from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating, raising the target price from $64.00 to $93.00, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.
• NIKE is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.40 on October 1, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.2%, with a payout ratio of 74.07%.

Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 25,297 shares of the footwear maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,606,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NKE. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 1.2% during the first quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 15,119 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $934,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,666 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 1.4% during the first quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 13,752 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in NIKE by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,387 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in NIKE by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,258 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on NKE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of NIKE from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $64.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NIKE from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Argus raised shares of NIKE to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.93, for a total value of $6,535,902.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 744,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,566,938.84. This trade represents a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NKE opened at $73.60 on Wednesday. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $75.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.87. NIKE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.28 and a 1-year high of $90.62. The company has a market cap of $108.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.07, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.24.

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

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.07%.

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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