NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Given Equal Weight Rating at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reissued their equal weight rating on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $79.00 price target on the footwear maker’s stock, down from their previous price target of $114.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on NIKE from $138.00 to $125.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on NIKE from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $134.00 to $120.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on NIKE from $89.00 to $75.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Williams Trading reissued a sell rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down from $92.00) on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday, March 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $98.96.

NIKE Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NIKE stock opened at $76.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.01. NIKE has a 12-month low of $74.29 and a 12-month high of $123.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.85.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 27th. The footwear maker reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. NIKE had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 42.63%. The company had revenue of $12.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.86 billion. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that NIKE will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In related news, EVP Monique S. Matheson sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total transaction of $4,237,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,997 shares in the company, valued at $4,236,917.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Johanna Nielsen sold 282 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.64, for a total value of $26,406.48. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 730 shares in the company, valued at $68,357.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Monique S. Matheson sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total transaction of $4,237,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,236,917.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 213,660 shares of company stock valued at $19,946,333. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Cim LLC acquired a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,275,000. TKG Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at $1,012,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,034,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 2,332.5% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 184,042 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $17,598,000 after purchasing an additional 176,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,668,949 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $506,908,000 after purchasing an additional 192,752 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NIKE Company Profile

NIKE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services worldwide. The company provides athletic and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories under the Jumpman trademark; and casual sneakers, apparel, and accessories under the Converse, Chuck Taylor, All Star, One Star, Star Chevron, and Jack Purcell trademarks.