NIKE, Inc. $NKE Shares Sold by Saratoga Research & Investment Management

Saratoga Research & Investment Management lessened its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,781 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 12,009 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in NIKE were worth $7,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of NIKE by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 116,993,541 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $7,453,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702,342 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of NIKE by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 42,239,013 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,945,326,000 after purchasing an additional 286,615 shares during the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE raised its position in shares of NIKE by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 12,753,317 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $812,514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886,856 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of NIKE by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,561,334 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $875,902,000 after purchasing an additional 404,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,838,528 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $825,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,518,666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE opened at $41.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.74, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.11. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.70 and a fifty-two week high of $80.17.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $11.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on NKE. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $45.00 price objective on shares of NIKE and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $69.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (down from $60.00) on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective (down from $76.00) on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.04.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $43.34 per share, with a total value of $173,360.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 41,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,777,893.48. This trade represents a 10.80% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Elliott Hill acquired 23,660 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $42.27 per share, with a total value of $1,000,108.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 265,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,211,990.69. This trade represents a 9.79% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 64,441 shares of company stock worth $2,734,204. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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).