Sarasin & Partners LLP Grows Stock Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 319,762 shares of the footwear maker's stock after purchasing an additional 65,085 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP's holdings in NIKE were worth $24,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 52.6% in the third quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 435 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 52.2% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 493 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Ecofi Investissements SA bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of NIKE during the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NIKE Stock Performance

NIKE stock traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $70.89. The stock had a trading volume of 9,688,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,668,856. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.32 and a 52-week high of $107.43. The company has a market capitalization of $104.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's fifty day moving average is $75.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.95.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. NIKE's revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from NIKE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. NIKE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.38%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other 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 shares were bought at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NKE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on NIKE from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Telsey Advisory Group cut shares of NIKE from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.96.

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.