Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 98,288 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 624,716 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 98,288 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $47,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Caitlin John LLC boosted its stake in NIKE by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in NIKE during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 110.5% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Down 1.1 %

NIKE 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $74.52 and a 200-day moving average price 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. NIKE’s payout ratio is 53.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 shares were 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. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on NKE shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on NIKE from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on NIKE from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup cut NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $72.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded NIKE from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.38.

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.