NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Shares Acquired by North Growth Management Ltd.

North Growth Management Ltd. boosted its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 62.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,000 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,000 shares during the quarter. North Growth Management Ltd.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $5,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covea Finance lifted its position in NIKE by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Covea Finance now owns 353,766 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $22,457,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares during the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC lifted its position in NIKE by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 4,984 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Brady Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in NIKE by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Brady Family Wealth LLC now owns 47,829 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,036,000 after purchasing an additional 4,051 shares during the last quarter. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in NIKE by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,341 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC lifted its position in NIKE by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 77,679 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $4,931,000 after purchasing an additional 4,117 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 8,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.46 per share, with a total value of $502,756.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 31,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,869,726.18. This trade represents a 36.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on NKE shares. Cfra Research upgraded shares of NIKE to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of NIKE from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.74.

NIKE Stock Performance

NIKE stock opened at $59.78 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.09. The company has a market cap of $88.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.52. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $98.04.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 32.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.16%.

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.