Conning Inc. Boosts Holdings in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Conning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 18.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,989 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 11,463 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $3,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westerkirk Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc. now owns 131,220 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $8,360,000 after purchasing an additional 45,100 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP bought a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,200,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its position in shares of NIKE by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 2,526,179 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $160,943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106,499 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at $43,188,000. Finally, Nicholas Company Inc. boosted its holdings in NIKE by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 123,652 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $7,878,000 after buying an additional 30,890 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Elliott Hill purchased 23,660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $42.27 per share, with a total value of $1,000,108.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 265,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,211,990.69. This represents a 9.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total value of $803,439.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 53,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,453,681.94. This represents a 24.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $44.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $65.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.12. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.00 and a 52-week high of $80.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.40.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.85 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The business’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 78.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NKE. Truist Financial cut their price target on NIKE from $69.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $72.00 price objective on NIKE and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Berenberg Bank set a $49.00 price objective on NIKE in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.80.

NIKE Company Profile

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).