Markel Group Inc. Acquires 13,000 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Markel Group Inc. boosted its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 445,400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $28,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in NIKE by 388.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 202,411 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $15,316,000 after buying an additional 160,980 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 190,915 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $14,447,000 after purchasing an additional 17,888 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in NIKE by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,634 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 61.1% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,238 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 3,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in NIKE by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,703 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $3,988,000 after purchasing an additional 4,421 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cfra Research raised shares of NIKE to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of NIKE from $72.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Argus raised shares of NIKE to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.29, for a total value of $7,951,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 842,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,894,276.69. This trade represents a 11.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NIKE stock opened at $73.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.21. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $90.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.00 billion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.29.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The footwear maker reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. NIKE had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.33%. The business had revenue of $11.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. NIKE’s payout ratio is 74.07%.

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.