Simmons Bank Sells 3,786 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Simmons Bank reduced its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 52.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,379 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 3,786 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in NIKE were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Avitas Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,218 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $222,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in NIKE by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 32,965 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,914,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in NIKE by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 26,403 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,334,000 after buying an additional 2,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,046 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,418,000 after buying an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE opened at $79.86 on Friday. NIKE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.62 and a twelve month high of $105.57. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.29. The stock has a market cap of $118.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01.

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

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NKE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised NIKE from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $72.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.