Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 968,770 DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 968,770 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $221,693,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in DICK’S Sporting Goods by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 20,868 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock worth $4,775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,822 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 652,838 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock valued at $149,396,000 after buying an additional 31,919 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 407,355 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock valued at $93,219,000 after buying an additional 58,073 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 44,409 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock valued at $10,175,000 after buying an additional 4,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in DICK’S Sporting Goods by 79.8% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 58,601 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock worth $13,410,000 after acquiring an additional 26,004 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on DICK’S Sporting Goods from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on DICK’S Sporting Goods from $240.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Argus raised their target price on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods from $280.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, DICK’S Sporting Goods presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Julie Lodge-Jarrett sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total value of $1,139,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,504 shares in the company, valued at $3,762,746.96. This trade represents a 23.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lawrence J. Schorr sold 7,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.55, for a total transaction of $1,697,956.15. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 50,997 shares in the company, valued at $11,808,355.35. This represents a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 172,933 shares of company stock worth $39,655,456. Company insiders own 32.03% of the company’s stock.

DICK’S Sporting Goods Stock Performance

Shares of DKS stock opened at $202.09 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $223.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.62. The company has a market cap of $16.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.53. DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $182.84 and a 12-month high of $254.60.

DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The sporting goods retailer reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.15. DICK’S Sporting Goods had a return on equity of 42.00% and a net margin of 8.65%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.85 earnings per share. DICK’S Sporting Goods’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. will post 13.89 EPS for the current year.

DICK’S Sporting Goods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $1.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from DICK’S Sporting Goods’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. DICK’S Sporting Goods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.54%.

DICK’S Sporting Goods announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the sporting goods retailer to buy up to 18.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

DICK’S Sporting Goods Profile

Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc engages in the retailing of an extensive assortment of authentic sports equipment, apparel, footwear, and accessories. It also offers its products both online and through mobile applications. The company was founded by Richard T. Stack in 1948 and is headquartered in Coraopolis, PA.