Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on NIKE (NYSE:NKE)

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 202,836 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 52% compared to the typical daily volume of 133,250 call options.

NIKE Stock Up 1.7 %

NIKE stock traded up $0.97 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.09. 16,315,253 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,229,208. The company's 50-day moving average is $68.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.55. The firm has a market cap of $84.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15. NIKE has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $98.04. 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 (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. NIKE's revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that NIKE will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.80%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.16%.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 8,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in NIKE by 9.7% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 122,092 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $7,750,000 after purchasing an additional 10,823 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 34,388 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 7,927 shares during the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of NIKE by 10.6% during the first quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 509,318 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $32,332,000 after acquiring an additional 48,856 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the first quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Finally, Absher Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in NIKE by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 419,650 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $26,639,000 after acquiring an additional 27,630 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup cut NIKE from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Berenberg Bank began coverage on NIKE in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of NIKE to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NIKE has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.19.

NIKE Company 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.

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