NIKE, Inc. $NKE Stock Position Increased by Central Securities Corp

Central Securities Corp increased its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 500,000 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the period. NIKE makes up approximately 2.6% of Central Securities Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Central Securities Corp’s holdings in NIKE were worth $31,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,785,365 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $113,746,000 after acquiring an additional 334,690 shares during the last quarter. Beaton Management Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Beaton Management Co. Inc. now owns 16,121 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 91.9% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,885 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,860 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,789,888 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $177,744,000 after acquiring an additional 62,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 731,159 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $46,582,000 after acquiring an additional 107,282 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE stock opened at $43.72 on Wednesday. NIKE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.35 and a 1-year high of $80.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $64.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.61.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. NIKE’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.51 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 3.8%. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 108.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, Director Timothy D. Cook purchased 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $42.43 per share, for a total transaction of $1,060,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 130,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,536,266.40. This represents a 23.70% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Elliott Hill purchased 23,660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $42.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,108.20. Following the acquisition, 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 position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 64,441 shares of company stock worth $2,734,204. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research decreased their target price on NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on NIKE from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Guggenheim decreased their target price on NIKE from $77.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on NIKE from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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).