Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 332,518 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,318,959 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 332,518 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in NIKE were worth $360,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 120.7% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in NIKE by 134.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 377 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in NIKE by 160.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 390 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Price Performance

NYSE:NKE traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $94.07. The stock had a trading volume of 5,032,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,375,687. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.89. NIKE, Inc. has a one year low of $88.66 and a one year high of $128.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.37.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The footwear maker reported $0.98 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.28 billion. Research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NKE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of NIKE from $142.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on NIKE from $124.00 to $116.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on NIKE from $107.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on NIKE from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.26.

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.