Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 2,357,745 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 358.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,015,267 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,357,745 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.20% of NIKE worth $228,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in NIKE by 1,209,638.7% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 6,508,394 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $575,342,000 after buying an additional 6,507,856 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 3.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,916,789 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $5,140,796,000 after acquiring an additional 1,862,021 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the third quarter worth about $148,635,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the third quarter worth about $144,927,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 5.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,442,145 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,425,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,093 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other NIKE news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. DA Davidson upgraded NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.96.

NIKE Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:NKE opened at $71.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $105.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.53 and a fifty-two week high of $107.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.06.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 39.84%. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

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.