Stephens Inc. AR Has $6.26 Million Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 131.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,712 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,016 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in NIKE were worth $6,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NKE. Robinson Value Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at $2,505,000. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in NIKE by 100.7% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 33,810 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,524,000 after purchasing an additional 16,966 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 239.1% during the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 84,603 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $6,402,000 after buying an additional 59,652 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in NIKE by 595.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 161,345 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $12,209,000 after purchasing an additional 138,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in NIKE by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 196,586 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $14,876,000 after buying an additional 2,485 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Stock Down 4.3 %

Shares of NKE opened at $68.69 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.51. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.62 and a 1 year high of $107.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.04. The firm has a market cap of $101.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.01.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. NIKE’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on NKE shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.62.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. The trade was a 7.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.