Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,593 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of NIKE by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 78,113 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $5,549,000 after buying an additional 8,386 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in NIKE by 0.4% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 101,837 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $7,234,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in NIKE by 4.4% in the second quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,602 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 10.1% in the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 26,234 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Presilium Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 3.0% in the second quarter. Presilium Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,960 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Treasure Heinle sold 4,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.27, for a total transaction of $306,461.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,095,052.92. This represents a 12.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.93, for a total transaction of $6,535,902.54. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 744,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,566,938.84. The trade was a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded NIKE to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 6th. BTIG Research started coverage on NIKE in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of NIKE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.21.

NIKE Stock Down 2.4%

NKE stock opened at $66.82 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.36. The company has a market capitalization of $98.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.45. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month high of $84.76.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.22. NIKE had a net margin of 6.23% and a return on equity of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $11.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.05%.

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.