MUFG Securities EMEA plc Boosts Holdings in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 114.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,719 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 25,980 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in NIKE were worth $3,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 268.6% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 596 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Trading Down 0.7%

NKE stock opened at $45.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.01 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.12. NIKE, Inc. has a one year low of $41.35 and a one year high of $80.17. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $45.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.14.

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

NIKE Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other news, Director Timothy D. Cook bought 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $42.43 per share, with a total value of $1,060,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 130,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,536,266.40. This represents a 23.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 11,781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $42.44 per share, for a total transaction of $499,985.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 55,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,337,340.56. This trade represents a 27.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders bought 64,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,734,204. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NKE. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. HSBC downgraded shares of NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, May 11th. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.04.

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).