Candriam S.C.A. Boosts Holdings in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 57.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 486,635 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 177,652 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $25,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of NKE traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.39. The company had a trading volume of 23,290,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,765,434. The firm has a market cap of $65.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

NIKE Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. CICC Research cut shares of NIKE from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, April 6th. DA Davidson lowered shares of NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on NIKE from $69.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Evercore set a $46.00 price target on NIKE and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on NIKE from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other news, CEO Elliott Hill purchased 23,660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.27 per share, with a total value of $1,000,108.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 265,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,211,990.69. This represents a 9.79% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $803,439.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 53,133 shares in the company, valued at $2,453,681.94. The trade was 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. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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).