Arlington Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Arlington Partners LLC decreased its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 62.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,410 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 30,775 shares during the quarter. Arlington Partners LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $1,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Caitlin John LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in NIKE during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its holdings in NIKE by 52.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in NIKE by 52.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup downgraded shares of NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $102.00 to $72.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Down 4.3 %

NYSE NKE opened at $68.69 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $75.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.01. NIKE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.62 and a 52 week high of $107.43.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. NIKE’s payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

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.