NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Trading 4.1% Higher - Still a Buy?

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 4.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $56.69 and last traded at $56.64. 6,076,144 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 14,008,216 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NKE shares. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on NIKE from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup downgraded shares of NIKE from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on NIKE from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Sixteen 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.15.

NIKE Stock Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $68.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $82.44 billion, a PE 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued 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 (DPR) is presently 53.16%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other NIKE news, 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 8,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.46 per share, for a total transaction of $502,756.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 31,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,869,726.18. This trade represents a 36.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth $1,126,288,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,340,736 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $2,749,903,000 after acquiring an additional 8,898,591 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 6,029.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,821,270 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $516,166,000 after acquiring an additional 6,709,985 shares during 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 during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 1,302.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,602,101 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $196,901,000 after purchasing an additional 2,416,601 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company's stock.

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.