Avity Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Avity Investment Management Inc. cut its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 61.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 30,452 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 49,066 shares during the quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $2,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in NIKE by 1,209,638.7% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 6,508,394 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $575,342,000 after acquiring an additional 6,507,856 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of NIKE by 358.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,015,267 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $228,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,357,745 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in NIKE by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,916,789 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $5,140,796,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862,021 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $148,635,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $144,927,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NIKE Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:NKE opened at $71.09 on Wednesday. NIKE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.53 and a twelve month high of $107.43. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $105.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.02.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 39.84%. The firm had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson upgraded shares of NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays cut their price objective on NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.96.

About NIKE

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.