Stephens Inc. AR Reduces Stock Holdings in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR cut its NIKE stake by 35.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 25,615 shares and leaving it with 45,840 shares valued at about $2.95 million.
• Several NIKE insiders bought shares recently, including CEO Elliott Hill and Director Timothy D. Cook, while insiders collectively purchased 64,441 shares in the last quarter.
• NIKE reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with EPS of $0.35 versus $0.29 expected, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share payable July 1.

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 35.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,840 shares of the footwear maker's stock after selling 25,615 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in NIKE were worth $2,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,441 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 8,514 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,978 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other NIKE news, CEO Elliott Hill acquired 23,660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,108.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 265,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,211,990.69. This trade represents a 9.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy D. Cook acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $42.43 per share, with a total value of $1,060,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 130,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,536,266.40. The trade was a 23.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 64,441 shares of company stock worth $2,734,204. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NIKE Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE NKE opened at $42.54 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $47.59 and its 200 day moving average is $57.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.35 and a 12 month high of $80.17. The stock has a market cap of $62.99 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.12.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $11.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The company's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. NIKE's payout ratio is presently 108.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NKE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on NIKE from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings cut NIKE from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. KeyCorp lowered their price target on NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on NIKE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.04.

NIKE 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).

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