Independence Bank of Kentucky Boosts Stake in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 357.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,235 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 11,907 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in NIKE were worth $805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 23,975 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 3,297 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 101.5% in the 1st quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 46,328 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,447,000 after buying an additional 23,337 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in NIKE by 178.5% during the first quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 16,050 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $848,000 after buying an additional 10,288 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in NIKE by 6.0% during the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 20,574 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,087,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC increased its holdings in NIKE by 2,262.0% during the first quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 22,226 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,174,000 after buying an additional 21,285 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NKE stock traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.39. The stock had a trading volume of 23,290,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,765,434. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.00 and a 12 month high of $80.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.40.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.09. NIKE had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other NIKE news, CEO Elliott Hill purchased 23,660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $42.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,108.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 265,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,211,990.69. This represents a 9.79% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 53,133 shares in the company, valued at $2,453,681.94. This trade represents a 24.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on NKE. Zacks Research cut shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Berenberg Bank set a $49.00 price objective on NIKE in a report on Friday, July 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $45.00 target price on NIKE and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.80.

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).