Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Increases Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP grew its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 42.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 198,521 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,413 shares during the quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in NIKE were worth $14,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in NIKE during the second quarter worth $835,063,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 24.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 45,383,916 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $2,880,971,000 after acquiring an additional 9,043,180 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in NIKE by 3,129.9% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 9,091,426 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $645,855,000 after purchasing an additional 8,809,950 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P acquired a new position in NIKE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $621,525,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in NIKE by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,157,198 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $863,647,000 after purchasing an additional 4,840,114 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE opened at $67.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $99.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $65.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.32. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NKE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NIKE from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $68.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. KeyCorp set a $90.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Citigroup downgraded NIKE from a “positive” rating to a “mixed” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.80, for a total transaction of $5,577,854.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 647,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,965,452. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 16,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $62.09 per share, with a total value of $1,002,753.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 21,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,327,980.92. This represents a 308.32% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.