Soros Fund Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Soros Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 32.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 162,320 shares of the footwear maker's stock after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC's holdings in NIKE were worth $12,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NKE. JNBA Financial Advisors raised its stake in NIKE by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 10,045 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in NIKE by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 20,446 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,547,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Elgethun Capital Management increased its position in NIKE by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 1,236 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in NIKE by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,014 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $1,136,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

NIKE Price Performance

NYSE NKE traded up $1.89 on Friday, hitting $58.65. The stock had a trading volume of 14,697,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,564,592. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $98.04. The company has a market capitalization of $86.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $64.63 and a 200-day moving average of $72.08.

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

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. NIKE's payout ratio is currently 53.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NKE. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on NIKE from $72.00 to $57.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Cfra Research upgraded NIKE to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of NIKE in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.15.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In related news, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 8,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.46 per share, with a total value of $502,756.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 31,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,869,726.18. The trade was a 36.78 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at $65,301,708.56. This represents a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.