NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,440,451 shares of the footwear maker's stock after selling 1,786,792 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.64% of NIKE worth $714,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in NIKE during the 4th quarter worth about $1,126,288,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in NIKE by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,340,736 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $2,749,903,000 after purchasing an additional 8,898,591 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 6,029.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,821,270 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $516,166,000 after purchasing an additional 6,709,985 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,367,993 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $1,541,246,000 after purchasing an additional 3,121,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in NIKE by 358.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,015,267 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $228,165,000 after buying an additional 2,357,745 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE opened at $57.17 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.50 and a 1 year high of $98.04. The company's fifty day moving average is $72.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.27.

Remove Ads

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

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. NIKE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.16%.

Insider Activity

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on NKE shares. China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Dbs Bank upgraded NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on NIKE from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "hold" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.38.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NKE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.