World Investment Advisors Increases Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 25.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 49,125 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 10,107 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in NIKE were worth $3,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 18,317 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,386,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in NIKE by 87.7% in the 4th quarter. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,760 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 3,159 shares in the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at $584,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of NIKE by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 19,695 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 212.7% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 30,454 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 20,714 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Price Performance

NKE opened at $57.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $84.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.33. NIKE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.50 and a 12-month high of $98.04.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. NIKE’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on NIKE from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Dbs Bank raised shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target 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, China Renaissance started coverage on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.