North Growth Management Ltd. Buys 37,000 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

North Growth Management Ltd. increased its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 231.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,000 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,000 shares during the quarter. North Growth Management Ltd.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $4,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 131.7% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 82,712 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $6,259,000 after buying an additional 47,016 shares in the last quarter. Robinson Value Management Ltd. bought a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,505,000. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 100.7% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 33,810 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $2,524,000 after acquiring an additional 16,966 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 239.1% in the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 84,603 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $6,402,000 after acquiring an additional 59,652 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of NIKE by 595.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 161,345 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $12,209,000 after purchasing an additional 138,131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NIKE Stock Down 4.3 %

NYSE:NKE opened at $68.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $101.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.01. NIKE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.62 and a twelve month high of $107.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.01.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors 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 an increase 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 49.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America reduced their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.62.

NIKE 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.