New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 78,000 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 5.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,468,971 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 78,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in NIKE were worth $102,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in NIKE by 388.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 202,411 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $15,316,000 after buying an additional 160,980 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the 1st quarter worth about $311,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 154,890 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $11,003,000 after acquiring an additional 14,126 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,012 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,695,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA increased its stake in NIKE by 158.6% in the second quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 750 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:NKE opened at $62.59 on Friday. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month high of $82.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $63.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $92.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.28.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is 96.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on NKE. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on NIKE from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Truist Financial set a $69.00 price target on NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 price objective on NIKE and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy D. Cook purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $58.97 per share, for a total transaction of $2,948,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 105,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,220,155.60. The trade was a 90.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.80, for a total value of $5,577,854.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 647,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,965,452. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders acquired 91,229 shares of company stock worth $5,452,640. 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).