NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,461 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 9,111 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in NIKE were worth $2,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Caitlin John LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 52.2% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 493 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NIKE has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.62.

NIKE Stock Up 6.2 %

NKE opened at $77.54 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $114.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.01. NIKE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.62 and a 52 week high of $106.62.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s payout ratio is 49.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.