Saratoga Research & Investment Management Sells 52,289 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Saratoga Research & Investment Management lessened its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 656,900 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 52,289 shares during the period. NIKE comprises approximately 2.5% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in NIKE were worth $49,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 9.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 51,000 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $4,508,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the third quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY boosted its position in NIKE by 49.6% during the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 13,592 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 4,506 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in NIKE during the third quarter worth $1,688,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in NIKE by 3,520.3% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 106,146 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $9,383,000 after purchasing an additional 103,214 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NKE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson upgraded NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NIKE has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.38.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $63.32 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.76 and a 1-year high of $98.04. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.92.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.16%.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.