NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Shares Sold by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lessened its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,863,391 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 102,877 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.13% of NIKE worth $141,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth about $642,000. Cacti Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,987,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new position in NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at $5,384,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 25,835 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 6,124 shares during the period. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 5,745.9% during the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,652 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 8,504 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:NKE opened at $65.76 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $97.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50 day moving average is $74.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.13. 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 52 week low of $64.95 and a 52 week high of $98.04.

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

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.16%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chairman now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on NKE shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of NIKE from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Fifteen equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.38.

NIKE Company 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.