Lynch Asset Management Inc. Sells 21,150 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Lynch Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 81.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,700 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 21,150 shares during the quarter. Lynch Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NKE. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 2nd quarter valued at $835,063,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in NIKE by 3,129.9% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 9,091,426 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $645,855,000 after acquiring an additional 8,809,950 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P bought a new position in NIKE in the second quarter valued at $621,525,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in NIKE by 66.1% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,157,198 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $863,647,000 after purchasing an additional 4,840,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in NIKE by 129.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,849,636 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $411,951,000 after purchasing an additional 3,299,155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.80, for a total value of $5,577,854.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 647,615 shares in the company, valued at $41,965,452. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 16,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $62.09 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,753.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,327,980.92. This represents a 308.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 91,229 shares of company stock valued at $5,452,640 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Williams Trading reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 19th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $75.00 to $61.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.32.

NIKE Price Performance

NKE opened at $65.87 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $63.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.57. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $82.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.51 billion, a PE ratio of 38.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.06.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.16. NIKE had a net margin of 5.43% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The business had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 96.47%.

About NIKE

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).