NIKE, Inc. $NKE Holdings Raised by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 693,391 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,240 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $49,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its stake in NIKE by 1.0% in the second quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 14,176 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 5,165 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,012 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,695,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE opened at $62.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.81, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $82.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.01.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $11.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.96 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 6.23% and a return on equity of 21.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. NIKE’s payout ratio is 84.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NKE. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NIKE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday, September 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Treasure Heinle sold 4,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.27, for a total transaction of $306,461.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 29,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,095,052.92. The trade was a 12.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 16,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $62.09 per share, with a total value of $1,002,753.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 21,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,327,980.92. The trade was a 308.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About NIKE

NIKE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services worldwide. The company provides athletic and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories under the Jumpman trademark; and casual sneakers, apparel, and accessories under the Converse, Chuck Taylor, All Star, One Star, Star Chevron, and Jack Purcell trademarks.