Sapient Capital LLC Grows Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Sapient Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,761 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $1,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Panoramic Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at $373,000. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at $547,000. Bristlecone Advisors LLC raised its stake in NIKE by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 103,019 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $7,795,000 after purchasing an additional 9,498 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in NIKE by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,973 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,025,000 after purchasing an additional 3,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quilter Plc raised its stake in NIKE by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 399,151 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $30,204,000 after purchasing an additional 12,744 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.62.

NIKE Stock Performance

NKE stock opened at $71.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $105.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.09. NIKE, Inc. has a one year low of $68.62 and a one year high of $107.43. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.