Advocate Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Advocate Group LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,579 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 699 shares during the period. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $2,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NKE. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of NIKE during the third quarter worth $30,000. VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its holdings in NIKE by 52.6% in the third quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 435 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in NIKE by 52.2% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 493 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Ecofi Investissements SA acquired a new stake in NIKE in the second quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the third quarter worth about $52,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NKE opened at $73.60 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $75.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. The company has a market capitalization of $108.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.32 and a fifty-two week high of $107.43.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America cut their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on NIKE from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.96.

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.