Griffin Asset Management Inc. Sells 12,154 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 52.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,886 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 12,154 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $642,000. Cacti Asset Management LLC bought a new position in NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,987,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at $5,384,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in NIKE by 5,745.9% during the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,652 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 8,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC boosted its holdings in NIKE by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 60,642 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $4,589,000 after acquiring an additional 19,991 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NKE. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.96.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NIKE Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE NKE opened at $74.38 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $75.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.95. The company has a market capitalization of $110.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. NIKE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.32 and a 52 week high of $107.43.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. NIKE’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.38%.

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.