Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Acquires New Stake in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 99,190 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $6,319,000. NIKE makes up about 1.1% of Banco BTG Pactual S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its position in NIKE by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 17,141 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after buying an additional 5,340 shares during the last quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 145,580 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $9,275,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 6,187,950 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $394,234,000 after purchasing an additional 301,808 shares in the last quarter. Xponance LLC boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 184,580 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $11,760,000 after purchasing an additional 14,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 98,193 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $6,256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NIKE should get an attention boost from the World Cup, which gives the company a high-profile stage to promote its brand and compete more directly with Adidas. Nike’s World Cup play: take on Adidas and revitalize the brand
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent valuation commentary suggests the stock has had mixed performance, with short-term gains offset by weakness over the longer term, keeping investor sentiment cautious. A Look At Nike (NKE) Valuation As Recent Share Performance Remains Mixed
• Negative Sentiment: RBC Capital downgraded NIKE to Sector Perform/Hold and cut its price target, saying the company’s turnaround is taking longer than expected and near-term catalysts look limited. Nike Could Get a World Cup Boost. But Stay Behind the Touchline, Analysts Say.
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup also lowered its price target on NIKE and kept a neutral view, adding to concerns about margins, brand reset progress, and the credibility of management’s financial targets. Citigroup adjusts Nike’s PT to 47 from 53, maintains Neutral rating
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary from analysts and media outlets echoed the same theme: NIKE’s operational turnaround and brand reset are progressing more slowly than hoped, keeping pressure on the shares. Analyst Downgrade Puts Nike Turnaround Pace And Profit Goals In Focus

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy D. Cook bought 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.43 per share, with a total value of $1,060,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 130,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,536,266.40. This trade represents a 23.70% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 11,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $42.44 per share, with a total value of $499,985.64. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 55,074 shares in the company, valued at $2,337,340.56. The trade was a 27.21% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 64,441 shares of company stock worth $2,734,204. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on NKE. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $35.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. China Renaissance decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $74.60 to $50.30 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $54.00 to $51.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.89.

NIKE Price Performance

NIKE stock opened at $45.91 on Friday. NIKE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.35 and a 52 week high of $80.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.12.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. NIKE had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The business had revenue of $11.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. NIKE’s payout ratio is presently 108.61%.

NIKE Company Profile

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).