Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Buys 20,461 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 29.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 90,682 shares of the footwear maker's stock after buying an additional 20,461 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in NIKE were worth $6,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $1,126,288,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of NIKE by 32.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 6,029.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,821,270 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $516,166,000 after purchasing an additional 6,709,985 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 18.1% during 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, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 1,302.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,602,101 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $196,901,000 after purchasing an additional 2,416,601 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $75.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group dropped their price target on NIKE from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Berenberg Bank started coverage on NIKE in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Dbs Bank raised NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NIKE has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 8,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was acquired 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,869,726.18. This trade represents a 36.78 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This represents a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NIKE Stock Performance

NKE traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $58.53. The company had a trading volume of 14,425,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,314,451. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $98.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $86.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.33.

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

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.16%.

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.