Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Boosts Stake in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 410.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 132,942 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 106,891 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in NIKE were worth $9,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of NIKE by 0.6% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,823,785 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $8,086,042,000 after acquiring an additional 672,705 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in NIKE by 24.9% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 45,383,916 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,880,971,000 after purchasing an additional 9,043,180 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in NIKE in the second quarter valued at $835,063,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 9.5% during the second quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 11,265,390 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $800,293,000 after buying an additional 978,771 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 4.7% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,951,767 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $707,550,000 after buying an additional 444,517 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $63.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.29. NIKE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $82.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. NIKE’s payout ratio is presently 84.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on NKE shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Cowen raised NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. DZ Bank raised shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $100.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.