WT Asset Management Ltd Has $2.44 Million Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

WT Asset Management Ltd lowered its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 90.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 35,000 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 334,300 shares during the quarter. WT Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in NIKE were worth $2,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 115,291,199 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $8,039,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,467,414 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in NIKE by 2.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,154,159 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $4,225,441,000 after buying an additional 1,590,603 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in NIKE by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,157,198 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $863,647,000 after acquiring an additional 4,840,114 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,838,528 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $825,501,000 after acquiring an additional 3,518,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of NIKE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $835,063,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE NKE traded up $1.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.84. 1,501,552 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,926,644. The company’s fifty day moving average is $63.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.06. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.44. The stock has a market cap of $98.94 billion, a PE ratio of 39.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.27.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.16. NIKE had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 5.43%.The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 96.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 8,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $57.54 per share, for a total transaction of $500,080.14. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 43,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,491,079.22. This trade represents a 25.12% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Elliott Hill acquired 16,388 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $61.10 per share, with a total value of $1,001,306.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 241,587 shares in the company, valued at $14,760,965.70. The trade was a 7.28% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 75,079 shares of company stock worth $4,449,887 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on NKE shares. Barclays reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday, January 12th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 price objective on NIKE and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.61.

NIKE Profile

Nike, Inc (NYSE: NKE) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman and renamed Nike in 1971, the company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike develops and commercializes products across performance and lifestyle categories for sports including running, basketball, soccer and training, and is known for signature technologies and design-driven product lines.

The company markets products under several primary brands, including Nike, Jordan and Converse, and sells through a combination of wholesale relationships, branded retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels such as company-operated stores and digital platforms (e.g., Nike.com and mobile apps).