River Road Asset Management LLC Makes New $3.16 Million Investment in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 41,756 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,160,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at $642,000. Cacti Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at $9,987,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at $5,384,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 25,835 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 6,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 5,745.9% in the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,652 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 8,504 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NIKE Price Performance

NIKE stock opened at $74.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.62 and a 1 year high of $102.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.77 and a 200-day moving average of $78.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NKE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen cut their price target on NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. DA Davidson raised NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen 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. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.77.

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.