Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Boosts Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 532.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 20,669 shares of the footwear maker's stock after purchasing an additional 17,400 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC's holdings in NIKE were worth $1,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in NIKE by 1,209,638.7% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 6,508,394 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $575,342,000 after purchasing an additional 6,507,856 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted 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 worth $228,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,357,745 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 3.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,916,789 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $5,140,796,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 3rd quarter valued at $148,635,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NKE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.62.

NIKE Trading Down 0.9 %

NIKE stock traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $76.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,813,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,223,615. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.33 and a 200-day moving average of $78.05. NIKE, Inc. has a one year low of $68.62 and a one year high of $106.62. The stock has a market cap of $113.15 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.01.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The firm's revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. NIKE's payout ratio is 49.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NIKE news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. The trade was a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.