NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Stock Holdings Cut by Saratoga Research & Investment Management

Saratoga Research & Investment Management cut its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 656,900 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 52,289 shares during the quarter. NIKE accounts for 2.5% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in NIKE were worth $49,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JNBA Financial Advisors raised its position in NIKE by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 10,045 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 4.7% in the third quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,036 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 20,446 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in NIKE by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,014 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in NIKE by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NKE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on NIKE from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. DA Davidson raised shares of NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.38.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total value of $12,361,581.56. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NIKE Price Performance

NKE stock opened at $63.32 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.76 and a 12 month high of $98.04. The firm has a market cap of $93.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.92.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.26. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The firm had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 53.16%.

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.