NIKE, Inc. $NKE Position Reduced by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 17.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 71,455 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 14,686 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in NIKE were worth $4,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in NIKE by 697.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 228,889 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $15,960,000 after acquiring an additional 200,187 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in NIKE by 33.0% in the second quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 302,320 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $21,477,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in NIKE by 54.6% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 104,791 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $7,307,000 after buying an additional 37,019 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in NIKE by 238.8% during the second quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 141,356 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $10,042,000 after buying an additional 99,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 28.3% in the second quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 221,117 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $15,708,000 after buying an additional 48,764 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NKE. Argus decreased their target price on NIKE from $85.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Williams Trading lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 19th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy D. Cook acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $58.97 per share, for a total transaction of $2,948,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 105,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,220,155.60. The trade was a 90.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.80, for a total value of $5,577,854.40. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 647,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,965,452. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 91,229 shares of company stock worth $5,452,640 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NIKE Stock Down 1.6%

NKE opened at $64.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $63.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.49. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.44.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.16. NIKE had a net margin of 5.43% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The company had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.47%.

Key Headlines Impacting NIKE

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reaffirmed its buy rating on NKE, supporting demand from institutional investors who follow analyst recommendations. Wells Fargo Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on Nike (NKE)
• Positive Sentiment: Opinion pieces highlight insider/board buying (Tim Cook) and bullish commentary on leadership, which can boost investor confidence and headline-driven flows. Opinion: Why It’s Time to Follow Tim Cook and CEO Elliott Hill Into Nike Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays reiterated a neutral rating on NKE, signaling no near-term catalyst from that major shop and contributing to mixed analyst signals. NIKE Inc. gets a neutral rating from Barclays
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks flagged heightened investor attention and published general takeaways on factors that could move the stock, useful for traders but not a clear buy/sell signal. NIKE, Inc. is Attracting Investor Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Loop Industries named Nike as an anchor customer for its projects — a positive PR touch but likely small near-term financial impact on NIKE itself. Loop Industries Advances India and Europe Projects, Names Nike Anchor Customer
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks highlighted strengthening margin headwinds — Q2 gross margin fell ~300 bps — and questioned whether tariff mitigation and cost measures will be sufficient. Margin pressure is a direct earnings risk and a clear negative for the stock. Margin Headwinds Strengthen: Will Tariff Mitigation Be Enough for NKE?
• Negative Sentiment: Several valuation pieces (The Motley Fool/MSN) debate whether NKE is still expensive despite the pullback; negative narratives around stretched multiples can pressure investors who are valuation-sensitive. Nike stock: Reasonably priced or still too expensive? Nike Stock: Reasonably Priced or Still Too Expensive?

NIKE Company Profile

Nike, Inc (NYSE: NKE) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman and renamed Nike in 1971, the company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike develops and commercializes products across performance and lifestyle categories for sports including running, basketball, soccer and training, and is known for signature technologies and design-driven product lines.

The company markets products under several primary brands, including Nike, Jordan and Converse, and sells through a combination of wholesale relationships, branded retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels such as company-operated stores and digital platforms (e.g., Nike.com and mobile apps).