Haverford Trust Co Reduces Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Haverford Trust Co trimmed its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,582 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 3,470 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in NIKE were worth $2,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Hirtle Callaghan & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. Interchange Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in NIKE by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,656 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at $84,000. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at $2,353,000. Finally, Banco de Sabadell S.A raised its stake in NIKE by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A now owns 15,966 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,208,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:NKE opened at $67.45 on Tuesday. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.17 and a 52-week high of $98.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.31.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NKE shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on NIKE from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson upgraded shares of NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday, March 17th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.