BNP Paribas Trims Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

BNP Paribas trimmed its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 70.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,869 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 18,386 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas’ holdings in NIKE were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NKE. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in NIKE by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,441 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in NIKE by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,978 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NIKE by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. now owns 5,868 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TPG Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in NIKE by 4.8% during the third quarter. TPG Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,666 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $43.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. NIKE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.35 and a 52 week high of $80.17.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $11.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 16.41%. NIKE’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. NIKE’s payout ratio is 108.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NKE. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Evercore cut their price target on NIKE from $69.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. CICC Research cut NIKE from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup lowered their price target on NIKE from $65.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on NIKE from $35.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NIKE currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy D. Cook bought 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $42.43 per share, with a total value of $1,060,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 130,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,536,266.40. The trade was a 23.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 4,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $43.34 per share, for a total transaction of $173,360.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 41,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,777,893.48. This trade represents a 10.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased 64,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,734,204 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About NIKE

Nike, Inc (NYSE: NKE) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman and renamed Nike in 1971, the company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike develops and commercializes products across performance and lifestyle categories for sports including running, basketball, soccer and training, and is known for signature technologies and design-driven product lines.

The company markets products under several primary brands, including Nike, Jordan and Converse, and sells through a combination of wholesale relationships, branded retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels such as company-operated stores and digital platforms (e.g., Nike.com and mobile apps).