NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Rating Reiterated by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley restated their equal weight rating on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $79.00 price target on the footwear maker’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NKE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a neutral rating and set a $83.00 price target (down previously from $116.00) on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, June 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on NIKE from $118.00 to $105.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of NIKE from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Raymond James reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, UBS Group restated a neutral rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, June 28th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NIKE has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $96.04.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE NKE opened at $86.19 on Friday. NIKE has a 1 year low of $70.75 and a 1 year high of $123.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.90.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The footwear maker reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $12.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.86 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 42.63% and a net margin of 11.10%. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. Analysts predict that NIKE will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 52,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total transaction of $4,093,986.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,031,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,435,628. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 52,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value of $4,093,986.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,031,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,435,628. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 2,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.02 per share, with a total value of $226,515.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,613,260.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 440.0% in the first quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 270 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in NIKE by 106.4% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 291 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 408.5% in the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 300 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.