Norges Bank Invests $1.13 Billion in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 14,884,203 shares of the footwear maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,126,288,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.01% of NIKE at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NKE. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at $150,000. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd acquired a new position in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,497,000. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NIKE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $259,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 72,809 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $5,509,000 after purchasing an additional 17,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 162,825 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $12,321,000 after buying an additional 17,052 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson upgraded NIKE to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on NIKE from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.38.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NIKE stock traded down $2.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $63.32. The company had a trading volume of 19,564,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,930,854. The firm has a market cap of $93.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE, Inc. has a one year low of $63.14 and a one year high of $98.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.93.

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

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.16%.

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.