Groupe la Francaise Sells 34,166 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Groupe la Francaise cut its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,526 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 34,166 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in NIKE were worth $10,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the second quarter worth $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in NIKE by 952.6% during the 2nd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co boosted its stake in NIKE by 53.1% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 441 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in NIKE during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:NKE opened at $64.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.13. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $82.44.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $11.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.96 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 21.16% and a net margin of 6.23%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 84.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NKE. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 price objective on shares of NIKE and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. KeyCorp set a $90.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upgraded shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $62.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Cowen upgraded NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $68.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NIKE news, EVP Treasure Heinle sold 4,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.27, for a total transaction of $306,461.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 29,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,095,052.92. This trade represents a 12.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 16,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $62.09 per share, with a total value of $1,002,753.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 21,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,327,980.92. The trade was a 308.32% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company 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.