Prudential Financial Inc. Trims Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 624,716 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 98,288 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $47,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Caitlin John LLC boosted its holdings in NIKE by 117.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its position in shares of NIKE by 110.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Stock Down 1.1 %

NKE stock opened at $66.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $98.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE, Inc. has a one year low of $65.17 and a one year high of $98.04. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.21.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.16%.

Insider Activity

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, 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 represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total value of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NKE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on NIKE from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on NIKE from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.38.

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.