Sowell Financial Services LLC Acquires 18,250 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 106.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,316 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,250 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $2,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Caitlin John LLC lifted its position in NIKE by 117.0% in the 4th 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. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE NKE opened at $78.68 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. NIKE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.62 and a twelve month high of $102.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $74.76 and its 200 day moving average is $78.14.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total value of $12,361,581.56. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NKE. DA Davidson upgraded NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on NIKE from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Fourteen 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.