Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 10,570 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 250,898 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 10,570 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $18,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in NIKE by 21.0% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,801 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC bought a new position in NIKE during the third quarter worth about $237,000. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in NIKE by 18.1% during the third quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,162 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in NIKE by 2.6% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,355 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in NIKE during the third quarter worth about $383,000. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Trading Down 2.9 %

NKE stock opened at $76.35 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE, Inc. has a one year low of $68.62 and a one year high of $102.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $74.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.09. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The business’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is 49.38%.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at $65,301,708.56. This represents a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lowered shares of NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.77.

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.