NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Shares Sold by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC lowered its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 53.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,339 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 9,439 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Garrison Point Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 1.9% in the third quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 768 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 624 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 11,430 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,010,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in NIKE by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 8,396 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NKE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on NIKE from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.96.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NIKE Price Performance

NKE opened at $74.07 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $75.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.32 and a 52 week high of $107.43.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

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.