Employees Provident Fund Board Takes $186.08 Million Position in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Employees Provident Fund Board purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,920,713 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $186,079,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NKE. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new position in NIKE in the third quarter worth about $35,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other news, EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total value of $803,439.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 53,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,453,681.94. This represents a 24.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Elliott Hill purchased 23,660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $42.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,108.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 265,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,211,990.69. This represents a 9.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 64,441 shares of company stock worth $2,734,204. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting NIKE

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated a Buy rating on NIKE, which can support sentiment by signaling that analysts still see upside in the stock. Barclays Remains a Buy on Nike (NKE)
• Positive Sentiment: NIKE outperformed the broader market in the latest trading session, suggesting traders may be positioning ahead of upcoming earnings and looking for signs that the turnaround is taking hold. Nike (NKE) Outperforms Broader Market: What You Need to Know
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighted stronger traction in one major market and signs that NIKE’s recovery is gaining momentum, which could improve confidence in the company’s earnings outlook. Headed Into Earnings, Nike Stock Is Trading Lower Than It Was a Decade Ago. But Is the Turnaround Finally Working?

NIKE Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:NKE opened at $45.22 on Friday. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.35 and a 1 year high of $80.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $44.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $11.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. NIKE’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $35.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on NIKE from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Williams Trading cut their target price on NIKE from $80.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.89.

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).