Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires 4,039 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 32.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,438 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,039 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $1,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in NIKE by 952.6% in the second quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 53.1% during the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 441 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NKE opened at $64.45 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $66.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.05, 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.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.22. NIKE had a net margin of 6.23% and a return on equity of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $11.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. NIKE’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NKE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Citigroup raised shares of NIKE from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.24.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 16,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $62.09 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,753.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,327,980.92. This trade represents a 308.32% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Treasure Heinle sold 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.27, for a total value of $306,461.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,095,052.92. The trade was a 12.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.