NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Shares Bought by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 564,776 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,485 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $42,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in NIKE by 0.6% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 301,731 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $26,673,000 after purchasing an additional 1,830 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NIKE in the third quarter worth about $54,000. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 10.5% in the third quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,501 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $663,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in NIKE in the third quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Smart Portfolios LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 5.5% in the third quarter. Smart Portfolios LLC now owns 6,725 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NKE. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NKE opened at $77.76 on Thursday. 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 cap of $115.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.62 and a 12 month high of $102.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.25.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The firm’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. 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.