Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Acquires 6,956 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 203,542 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,956 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $12,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NKE. JNBA Financial Advisors boosted its stake in NIKE by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 10,045 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 20,446 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Elgethun Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 1,236 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, AlTi Global Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 36,996 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NKE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of NIKE in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.26.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $60.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.21. NIKE, Inc. has a one year low of $52.28 and a one year high of $98.04. The company’s fifty day moving average is $59.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.26. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The company had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 8,600 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $58.46 per share, for a total transaction of $502,756.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 31,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,869,726.18. This trade represents a 36.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.