NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on NKE. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on NIKE from $116.00 to $114.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a buy rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on NIKE from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $100.00 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $114.81.

NIKE Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NKE stock opened at $97.10 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $93.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.02. NIKE has a twelve month low of $88.66 and a twelve month high of $123.39. The company has a market capitalization of $146.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The footwear maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.29. NIKE had a return on equity of 39.41% and a net margin of 10.14%. The company had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.28 billion. Equities analysts forecast that NIKE will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 43.53%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, EVP Monique S. Matheson sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total value of $4,237,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,997 shares in the company, valued at $4,236,917.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other NIKE news, EVP Monique S. Matheson sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total transaction of $4,237,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,236,917.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 168,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.14, for a total value of $15,682,726.92. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,102,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,648,662.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 213,660 shares of company stock worth $19,946,333. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBW Capital LLC grew its position in NIKE by 0.9% during the first quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 47,539 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $4,468,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. IMS Capital Management boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 2.7% in the first quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 22,638 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,127,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. American Trust boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 9.5% in the first quarter. American Trust now owns 44,107 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $4,145,000 after buying an additional 3,833 shares during the period. Portland Hill Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE in the first quarter worth about $958,000. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 62.6% in the first quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,468 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,675,000 after buying an additional 10,958 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% 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.