Optas LLC Increases Stock Holdings in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Optas LLC raised its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,385 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in NIKE by 952.6% in the second quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in NIKE in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co increased its stake in NIKE by 53.1% in the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 441 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.29, for a total value of $7,951,900.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 842,361 shares in the company, valued at $60,894,276.69. This trade represents a 11.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Treasure Heinle sold 4,300 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.27, for a total transaction of $306,461.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 29,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,095,052.92. This trade represents a 12.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 200,378 shares of company stock worth $14,794,264. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE opened at $68.09 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $73.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.29. NIKE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.28 and a 1-year high of $84.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market cap of $100.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.29.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.22. NIKE had a net margin of 6.23% and a return on equity of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $11.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of NIKE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $76.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of NIKE from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.57.

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.