CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Acquires 77,011 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,669,647 shares of the footwear maker's stock after purchasing an additional 77,011 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.18% of NIKE worth $201,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,340,736 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $2,749,903,000 after purchasing an additional 8,898,591 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,376,558 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $1,915,110,000 after acquiring an additional 347,178 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,367,993 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,541,246,000 after acquiring an additional 3,121,929 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,126,288,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,205,753 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $696,599,000 after acquiring an additional 603,219 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

NIKE Stock Up 4.1 %

NYSE NKE traded up $2.18 on Friday, reaching $55.73. The company had a trading volume of 18,891,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,196,646. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company's fifty day moving average is $68.39 and its 200 day moving average is $73.85. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $98.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. NIKE's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 8,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.46 per share, with a total value of $502,756.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 31,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,869,726.18. The trade was a 36.78 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of NIKE 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NKE shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group dropped their price target on NIKE from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on NIKE from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.15.

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.