Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC Raises Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,600 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the quarter. NIKE comprises approximately 0.5% of Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $2,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in NIKE by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 8,649 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 110,688 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $8,376,000 after purchasing an additional 11,773 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $26,711,000. Riverview Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,592,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 321,173 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $24,303,000 after buying an additional 70,108 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE Stock Performance

NKE stock opened at $62.40 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.85. NIKE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.28 and a 12-month high of $98.04. The firm has a market cap of $92.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.23. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NKE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on NIKE from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Cfra Research raised shares of NIKE to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of NIKE from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 8,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.46 per share, for a total transaction of $502,756.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 31,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,869,726.18. The trade was a 36.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.