Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 615,041 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 31,142 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $42,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NKE. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its holdings in NIKE by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 14,176 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 4.2% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,441 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. St. Clair Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of NIKE by 0.9% during the third quarter. St. Clair Advisors LLC now owns 15,217 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. raised its holdings in NIKE by 6.3% in the second quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in NIKE by 10.1% in the second quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE opened at $65.77 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.41. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month high of $82.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.73, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.29.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.19 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 6.23% and a return on equity of 21.16%. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.10%.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 16,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $62.09 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,753.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,388 shares in the company, valued at $1,327,980.92. This represents a 308.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.80, for a total value of $5,577,854.40. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 647,615 shares in the company, valued at $41,965,452. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NKE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp set a $90.00 price objective on shares of NIKE and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of NIKE from a “sector perform” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on NIKE from $100.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, December 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.24.

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.