North Star Asset Management Inc. Sells 23,550 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

North Star Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 28.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,698 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 23,550 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $3,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in NIKE in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in NIKE in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in NIKE by 268.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co increased its holdings in NIKE by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 596 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on NKE shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of NIKE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Williams Trading decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $65.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.04.

NIKE Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:NKE opened at $44.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.45. NIKE, Inc. has a one year low of $41.35 and a one year high of $80.17. The company has a market cap of $66.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $11.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 108.61%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $43.34 per share, for a total transaction of $173,360.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 41,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,777,893.48. The trade was a 10.80% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy D. Cook acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $42.43 per share, with a total value of $1,060,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 130,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,536,266.40. This represents a 23.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 64,441 shares of company stock worth $2,734,204. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NIKE Profile

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).