Stephens Inc. AR Buys 17,840 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 38.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 63,680 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 17,840 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in NIKE were worth $3,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sankala Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in NIKE in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in NIKE in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting NIKE

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NIKE’s Q4 earnings and revenue topped Wall Street expectations, helped in part by a sizeable tariff refund, which shows the company can still generate profit upside even amid a tough sales environment. Nike (NKE) Beat On Q4 Earnings, Is The Turnaround Fully Priced?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains supportive in places, with BTIG reaffirming a Buy rating and a $55 price target, suggesting some see meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga / The Fly report
• Neutral Sentiment: NIKE continues to return cash to shareholders, paying about $609 million in dividends in Q4, which supports the stock for income-focused investors but does not solve the growth issue. How NIKE’s Capital Returns Show the Tax Tradeoff Between Dividends and Buybacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary also highlighted wholesale strength and improving retail partnerships, which could help NIKE’s turnaround, but these signs are still early. NIKE’s Wholesale Strength: A Signal of a Turnaround Ahead?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain cautious because Greater China sales fell sharply and management signaled continued sales pressure, making the recent beat look more like a one-time lift than a confirmed recovery. Nike (NKE) Beat On Q4 Earnings, Is The Turnaround Fully Priced?
• Negative Sentiment: Several recent articles and market commentary say NIKE “failed to impress” despite beating estimates, reflecting concern that the earnings beat does not yet change the weak sales trend or brand challenges. NIKE (NKE) Fails to Impress Despite Beating Expectations in Q4 2026

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE opened at $42.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $80.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.75 and a 200-day moving average of $52.57.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.85 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 6.70%.NIKE’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 78.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NKE shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $72.00 price target on shares of NIKE and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of NIKE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Berenberg Bank set a $49.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, July 3rd. HSBC cut shares of NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on NIKE from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NIKE currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In related news, CEO Elliott Hill acquired 23,660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,108.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 265,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,211,990.69. The trade was a 9.79% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $803,439.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 53,133 shares in the company, valued at $2,453,681.94. The trade was a 24.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate 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).