Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Grows Position in DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 407,355 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,073 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in DICK’S Sporting Goods were worth $93,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in DICK’S Sporting Goods in the fourth quarter valued at $1,893,210,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods in the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,562,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in DICK’S Sporting Goods by 86.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 467,764 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock worth $107,043,000 after purchasing an additional 217,390 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in DICK’S Sporting Goods by 1,718.2% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 200,000 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock worth $41,740,000 after purchasing an additional 189,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in DICK’S Sporting Goods in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,093,000. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Julie Lodge-Jarrett sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total value of $1,139,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,762,746.96. The trade was a 23.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence J. Schorr sold 7,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.55, for a total transaction of $1,697,956.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 50,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,808,355.35. This represents a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,933 shares of company stock valued at $39,655,456 over the last quarter. 32.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

DICK’S Sporting Goods Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE DKS opened at $210.14 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $223.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $216.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.53. DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $182.84 and a 52 week high of $254.60.

DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The sporting goods retailer reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.15. DICK’S Sporting Goods had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 42.00%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.85 EPS. DICK’S Sporting Goods’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. will post 13.89 earnings per share for the current year.

DICK’S Sporting Goods declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the sporting goods retailer to reacquire up to 18.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

DICK’S Sporting Goods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $1.2125 dividend. This represents a $4.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from DICK’S Sporting Goods’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. DICK’S Sporting Goods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DKS. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods from $240.00 to $195.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods from $280.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on DICK’S Sporting Goods from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, DICK’S Sporting Goods has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.50.

DICK’S Sporting Goods Company Profile

Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc engages in the retailing of an extensive assortment of authentic sports equipment, apparel, footwear, and accessories. It also offers its products both online and through mobile applications. The company was founded by Richard T. Stack in 1948 and is headquartered in Coraopolis, PA.