NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Shares Sold by Lynch Asset Management Inc.

Lynch Asset Management Inc. cut its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 34,850 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 3,750 shares during the period. NIKE makes up approximately 1.1% of Lynch Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Lynch Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $2,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Garrison Point Advisors LLC boosted its position in NIKE by 1.9% in the third quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $593,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 20.0% in the third quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 768 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 26.3% during the third 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 last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 1.2% during the third quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 11,430 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in NIKE by 1.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 8,396 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. The trade was a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NKE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 2nd. 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. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.96.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE opened at $76.82 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $75.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.03. NIKE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.32 and a 1-year high of $107.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.01.

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

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

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.