NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Stock Holdings Lessened by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 86.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 538,985 shares of the footwear maker's stock after selling 3,505,519 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in NIKE were worth $40,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,340,736 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $2,749,903,000 after acquiring an additional 8,898,591 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in NIKE by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,376,558 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,915,110,000 after acquiring an additional 347,178 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in NIKE by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 24,545,937 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,857,389,000 after acquiring an additional 2,288,627 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in NIKE by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,367,993 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,541,246,000 after acquiring an additional 3,121,929 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in NIKE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,126,288,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In related news, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 8,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $58.46 per share, for a total transaction of $502,756.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 31,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,869,726.18. The trade was a 36.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE NKE traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $63.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,902,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,822,494. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.85. NIKE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $98.04. The stock has a market cap of $93.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.23.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.26. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The company had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. NIKE's revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders 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 2.53%. NIKE's payout ratio is currently 53.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NKE. Dbs Bank upgraded NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. China Renaissance started coverage on NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on NIKE from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on NIKE from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on NIKE from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.30.

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.