Ledyard National Bank Sells 866 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Ledyard National Bank lessened its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,309 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 866 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in NIKE were worth $1,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NKE. Garrison Point Advisors LLC increased its position in NIKE by 1.9% during the third quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its position in shares of NIKE by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 768 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 624 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Meridian Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 1.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 8,396 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frisch Financial Group Inc. grew its position in NIKE by 4.7% during the third quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,036 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NIKE Stock Performance

NIKE stock opened at $71.75 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $106.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.01. NIKE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.32 and a twelve month high of $107.43.

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

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.77.

NIKE Profile

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.