Bright Rock Capital Management LLC Buys 7,000 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Bright Rock Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,000 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares during the period. NIKE makes up approximately 1.6% of Bright Rock Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $7,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NKE. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its holdings in NIKE by 52.6% during the third quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 435 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 493 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NKE. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.96.

NIKE Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE NKE opened at $71.09 on Wednesday. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.53 and a 12 month high of $107.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $105.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.02.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its earnings results 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. NIKE had a return on equity of 39.84% and a net margin of 10.60%. The firm had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.38%.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.