Covea Finance Reduces Stock Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Covea Finance lessened its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 344,266 shares of the footwear maker's stock after selling 4,270 shares during the period. NIKE accounts for approximately 1.2% of Covea Finance's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Covea Finance's holdings in NIKE were worth $26,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 34,115 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $2,581,000 after acquiring an additional 2,459 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in NIKE by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 17,648 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 4,614 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in NIKE by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 14,899 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 4,107 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 4,422 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of NIKE by 358.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,015,267 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $228,165,000 after buying an additional 2,357,745 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on NIKE from $112.00 to $109.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.96.

NIKE Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NKE traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.04. 13,450,153 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,185,806. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a market cap of $105.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's 50-day moving average is $76.05 and its 200-day moving average is $78.06. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.53 and a fifty-two week high of $107.43.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 39.84%. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued 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 yield of 2.25%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is 49.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NIKE 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.