J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 5.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,171 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,044,821 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $10,342,012,000 after purchasing an additional 501,792 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in NIKE by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,609,613 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $2,997,628,000 after acquiring an additional 7,143,775 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 87.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,135,431 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,860,395,000 after purchasing an additional 7,996,434 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,880,038 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,072,676,000 after purchasing an additional 211,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 45.6% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 8,859,580 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $832,623,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,510 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on NKE shares. Williams Trading upgraded shares of NIKE from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $93.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on NIKE from $115.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on NIKE from $115.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $115.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $83.00 price target (down from $116.00) on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, June 28th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.59.

NIKE Stock Performance

NKE stock opened at $79.82 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.47. The company has a market capitalization of $120.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.75 and a fifty-two week high of $123.39.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 27th. The footwear maker reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. NIKE had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 42.63%. The business had revenue of $12.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.68%.

Insider Activity

In other NIKE news, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 2,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $77.02 per share, for a total transaction of $226,515.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,613,260.92. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 2,941 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $77.02 per share, with a total value of $226,515.82. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,613,260.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 52,487 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value of $4,093,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,031,226 shares in the company, valued at $80,435,628. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% 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.