NIKE, Inc. $NKE Shares Purchased by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 45.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,413 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,797 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $2,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of NIKE by 54.4% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 732 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank raised its stake in NIKE by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 750 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in NIKE in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NKE shares. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Piper Sandler set a $75.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on NIKE from $100.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.61.

NIKE Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NKE opened at $61.08 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $63.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.97. NIKE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.28 and a 12-month high of $82.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $90.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.27.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.16. NIKE had a net margin of 5.43% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The business had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. NIKE’s payout ratio is presently 96.47%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other NIKE news, CEO Elliott Hill acquired 16,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $61.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,306.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 241,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,760,965.70. This trade represents a 7.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 8,691 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $57.54 per share, for a total transaction of $500,080.14. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 43,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,491,079.22. This represents a 25.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 75,079 shares of company stock worth $4,449,887. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About NIKE

Nike, Inc (NYSE: NKE) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman and renamed Nike in 1971, the company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike develops and commercializes products across performance and lifestyle categories for sports including running, basketball, soccer and training, and is known for signature technologies and design-driven product lines.

The company markets products under several primary brands, including Nike, Jordan and Converse, and sells through a combination of wholesale relationships, branded retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels such as company-operated stores and digital platforms (e.g., Nike.com and mobile apps).