Nuance Investments LLC Makes New Investment in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 90,759 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $6,868,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 36.2% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,698 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 4,440 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in NIKE in the third quarter valued at $261,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NIKE by 4.9% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 11,409 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Hawaii increased its stake in NIKE by 69.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 8,876 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 599.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 797 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Price Performance

NKE stock opened at $66.64 on Wednesday. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.17 and a 1 year high of $98.04. The company has a market cap of $98.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.52 and a 200 day moving average of $77.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.26. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The business had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NKE. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. China Renaissance assumed coverage on NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on NIKE from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

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

NIKE Company 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.