Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Purchases 249,851 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 434.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 307,370 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 249,851 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in NIKE were worth $21,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NIKE during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $401,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 6.7% during the third quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 28,390 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after acquiring an additional 1,793 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 6.9% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 47,772 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,331,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 24.6% during the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 10,119 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Columbia Asset Management grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 1.8% in the third quarter. Columbia Asset Management now owns 90,647 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $6,321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Down 1.2%

NIKE stock opened at $61.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.55 billion, a PE ratio of 36.38, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.28. NIKE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.28 and a 12-month high of $82.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $63.96 and its 200 day moving average is $68.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.19 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 5.43% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NKE. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on NIKE from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Williams Trading decreased their price target on NIKE from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down from $70.00) on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.61.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other news, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 8,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $57.54 per share, for a total transaction of $500,080.14. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 43,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,491,079.22. The trade was a 25.12% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Elliott Hill bought 16,388 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $61.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,306.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 241,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,760,965.70. This trade represents a 7.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 91,229 shares of company stock valued at $5,452,640. Company 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).