North Dakota State Investment Board Invests $2.53 Million in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 39,653 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,526,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rossmore Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 49,984 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,205,000 after buying an additional 6,833 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 202,466 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $12,899,000 after buying an additional 16,109 shares during the period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 1,253.6% in the fourth quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 78,846 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $5,023,000 after buying an additional 73,021 shares during the period. Evergreen Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at $425,000. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at $455,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $42.54 on Tuesday. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.35 and a 12 month high of $80.17. The company has a market cap of $62.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.86.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 4.84%.The business had revenue of $11.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. NIKE’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, CEO Elliott Hill bought 23,660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $42.27 per share, with a total value of $1,000,108.20. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 265,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,211,990.69. The trade was a 9.79% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 11,781 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $42.44 per share, for a total transaction of $499,985.64. Following the purchase, the director owned 55,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,337,340.56. This represents a 27.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 64,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,734,204. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NKE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore cut their price objective on NIKE from $69.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on NIKE from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 target price (down from $76.00) on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.04.

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).