Patten Group Inc. Cuts Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Patten Group Inc. decreased its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,297 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 577 shares during the quarter. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in NIKE in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Caitlin John LLC raised its position in NIKE by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total value of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NKE opened at $77.36 on Wednesday. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.62 and a fifty-two week high of $102.49. The company has a market capitalization of $114.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NKE. Citigroup lowered NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on NIKE from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.77.

NIKE Profile

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.