Buckingham Capital Management Inc. Sells 21,676 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Buckingham Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 40.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,904 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 21,676 shares during the period. Buckingham Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $2,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup downgraded NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.62.

NIKE Trading Down 0.3 %

NIKE stock opened at $73.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $108.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.01. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.62 and a fifty-two week high of $107.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. NIKE’s 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.