NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Trading Down 1.3% – Time to Sell?

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s share price fell 1.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $61.97 and last traded at $62.2850. 10,310,195 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 16,361,613 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NKE shares. Argus dropped their price target on NIKE from $85.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Williams Trading cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Daiwa Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $75.00 to $61.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.65.

NIKE Stock Down 1.2%

The stock has a market cap of $91.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.69.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.19 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 5.43% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. NIKE’s payout ratio is 96.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 16,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $62.09 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,753.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 21,388 shares in the company, valued at $1,327,980.92. The trade was a 308.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Elliott Hill purchased 16,388 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $61.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,306.80. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 241,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,760,965.70. This represents a 7.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased a total of 91,229 shares of company stock worth $5,452,640 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in NIKE in the second quarter worth about $835,063,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of NIKE by 3,129.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 8,809,950 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $621,525,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 42.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,838,528 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $825,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,518,666 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

About NIKE

Nike, Inc (NYSE: NKE) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman and renamed Nike in 1971, the company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike develops and commercializes products across performance and lifestyle categories for sports including running, basketball, soccer and training, and is known for signature technologies and design-driven product lines.

The company markets products under several primary brands, including Nike, Jordan and Converse, and sells through a combination of wholesale relationships, branded retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels such as company-operated stores and digital platforms (e.g., Nike.com and mobile apps).