Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 1,977.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,379,919 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,313,502 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.09% of NIKE worth $104,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NKE. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,792 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in NIKE by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,214 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,052,000 after purchasing an additional 2,243 shares in the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in NIKE by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 28,561 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC boosted its stake in NIKE by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC now owns 8,594 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in NIKE by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,697 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction 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 $65,301,708.56. This represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. The trade was a 7.84 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $73.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $109.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $74.71 and a 200 day moving average of $77.71. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $68.62 and a one year high of $101.92.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s payout ratio is 49.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NKE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.54.

NIKE Company 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.