Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Purchases 24,916 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 120,391 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,916 shares during the period. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $7,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NKE. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in NIKE by 4.2% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,441 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC lifted its stake in NIKE by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,978 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NIKE by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. now owns 5,868 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, TPG Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in NIKE by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. TPG Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,666 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key NIKE News

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NIKE should get an attention boost from the World Cup, which gives the company a high-profile stage to promote its brand and compete more directly with Adidas. Nike’s World Cup play: take on Adidas and revitalize the brand
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent valuation commentary suggests the stock has had mixed performance, with short-term gains offset by weakness over the longer term, keeping investor sentiment cautious. A Look At Nike (NKE) Valuation As Recent Share Performance Remains Mixed
• Negative Sentiment: RBC Capital downgraded NIKE to Sector Perform/Hold and cut its price target, saying the company’s turnaround is taking longer than expected and near-term catalysts look limited. Nike Could Get a World Cup Boost. But Stay Behind the Touchline, Analysts Say.
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup also lowered its price target on NIKE and kept a neutral view, adding to concerns about margins, brand reset progress, and the credibility of management’s financial targets. Citigroup adjusts Nike’s PT to 47 from 53, maintains Neutral rating
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary from analysts and media outlets echoed the same theme: NIKE’s operational turnaround and brand reset are progressing more slowly than hoped, keeping pressure on the shares. Analyst Downgrade Puts Nike Turnaround Pace And Profit Goals In Focus

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $45.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $67.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $44.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.52. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.35 and a 52-week high of $80.17.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $11.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 4.84%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NKE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. CICC Research cut NIKE from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $77.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Evercore decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $69.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on NIKE from $54.00 to $51.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 4,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $43.34 per share, with a total value of $173,360.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 41,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,777,893.48. The trade was a 10.80% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Elliott Hill bought 23,660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $42.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,108.20. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 265,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,211,990.69. This trade represents a 9.79% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased a total of 64,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,734,204 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NIKE Company 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).