VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New $3.45 Million Investment in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Key Points

• The Virginia Retirement Systems has made a new investment of approximately $3.45 million in NIKE, acquiring 48,600 shares in the footwear company during the 2nd quarter.
• Analysts currently rate NIKE stock with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.21, with several firms adjusting their price targets and ratings in recent months.
• NIKE reported $0.49 earnings per share, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40, indicating a strong financial position despite a year-over-year revenue increase of only 1.0%.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 48,600 shares of the footwear maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,453,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of NIKE by 952.6% during the 2nd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co increased its position in shares of NIKE by 53.1% during the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 441 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NKE has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $97.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, September 29th. UBS Group set a $71.00 price target on NIKE and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on NIKE in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.21.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $67.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.19. The company has a market cap of $100.09 billion, a PE ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.56. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $83.09.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $11.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.96 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 21.16% and a net margin of 6.23%.NIKE's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. NIKE's payout ratio is currently 82.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.93, for a total transaction of $6,535,902.54. Following the sale, the chairman owned 744,988 shares in the company, valued at $56,566,938.84. This represents a 10.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Treasure Heinle sold 4,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.27, for a total value of $306,461.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 29,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,095,052.92. This trade represents a 12.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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