Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 55,000 NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 55,000 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $5,971,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,315,097,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in NIKE by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,609,613 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $2,997,628,000 after purchasing an additional 7,143,775 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its stake in NIKE by 13,094.2% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,563,253 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $169,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551,405 shares in the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd increased its stake in NIKE by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 4,714,494 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $511,853,000 after purchasing an additional 957,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in NIKE by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,620,466 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $537,429,000 after purchasing an additional 870,423 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:NKE traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $96.55. The company had a trading volume of 9,397,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,098,210. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.66 and a 1 year high of $123.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The footwear maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.29. NIKE had a return on equity of 39.41% and a net margin of 10.14%. The company had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.28 billion. Equities analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other news, VP Johanna Nielsen sold 282 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.64, for a total transaction of $26,406.48. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,357.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Johanna Nielsen sold 282 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.64, for a total transaction of $26,406.48. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,357.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 168,378 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.14, for a total value of $15,682,726.92. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,102,090 shares in the company, valued at $102,648,662.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 213,660 shares of company stock valued at $19,946,333 over the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NKE shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on NIKE from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on NIKE from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on NIKE from $124.00 to $116.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on NIKE from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on NIKE from $138.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.26.

NIKE 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.