Romano Brothers AND Company Reduces Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Romano Brothers AND Company reduced its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,821 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 1,993 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in NIKE were worth $440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $642,000. Cacti Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in NIKE during the 4th quarter worth $9,987,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in NIKE by 5,745.9% in the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,652 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 8,504 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 60,642 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 19,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP increased its position in shares of NIKE by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 72,986 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $5,523,000 after purchasing an additional 30,011 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NKE shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on NIKE from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.96.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE opened at $70.89 on Monday. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.32 and a 52-week high of $107.43. The company has a market cap of $104.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $75.77 and its 200-day moving average is $77.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. NIKE’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. NIKE’s payout ratio is 49.38%.

NIKE Company 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.