Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Sells 238,273 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. reduced its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,941,213 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 238,273 shares during the quarter. NIKE comprises 1.0% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $146,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in NIKE by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,916,789 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $5,140,796,000 after acquiring an additional 1,862,021 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 5.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,442,145 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,425,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,093 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,029,380 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,204,451,000 after purchasing an additional 251,411 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of NIKE by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,367,993 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,541,246,000 after buying an additional 3,121,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth about $1,126,288,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NKE opened at $63.32 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $74.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.94. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.14 and a 12 month high of $98.04. The firm has a market cap of $93.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The business’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on NKE shares. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on NIKE from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Dbs Bank raised shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America reduced their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, DA Davidson raised NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total value of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.