Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 52,708 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 8.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 675,851 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 52,708 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $47,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NKE. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in NIKE by 388.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 202,411 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $15,316,000 after acquiring an additional 160,980 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in NIKE during the 1st quarter worth approximately $311,000. United Bank raised its holdings in NIKE by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 17,067 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of NIKE in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $276,000. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 29,585 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 3,207 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about NIKE

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgrade to Overweight and higher price target — Barclays upgraded NKE from Equal-Weight to Overweight and raised its target (reported as $73), calling the shares likely at a “fundamental bottom” and citing operational progress; that upgrade is the primary catalyst for the intraday uplift. Nike’s Stock Gets an Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat deep-dive: North America recovery & inventory cleanup — Recent reporting highlights a clear North America rebound (wholesale/orderbook improvements), a healthier product pipeline, and fewer promotions — factors that support margin recovery and validate Barclays’ view. Just Buy It? Barclays Thinks Nike Is Ready to Run
• Positive Sentiment: Broad analyst attention & market reaction — Multiple outlets note the upgrade and project ~30% upside from current levels; Nike led the Dow in early trade on the news, signaling short-term momentum and renewed investor interest. Nike stock rises 2% as Barclays upgrades
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and reassessment after a sharp pullback — Some analysts are recalculating fair value after recent share-price declines; the stock’s lower level has opened value-argument conversations but still depends on execution. Assessing Nike Valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Other bullish reiterations — Firms like RBC have reiterated constructive calls, but their takes emphasize the same conditional drivers (China recovery, margin trends). These reinforce confidence but don’t add a new catalyst. RBC Sees Path to Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Lingering headwinds — Greater China weakness, Converse challenges, tariff uncertainty and earlier gross-margin pressure remain real risks; the recovery narrative depends on continued improvement across these areas. Nike Stock Gets an Upgrade — Investors Are Too Skeptical
• Negative Sentiment: Recent multi-session selloff prior to upgrade — The stock endured a notable pullback (weekly losses and a one-year decline) that raises the bar for sustained upside until margins and international results stabilize. Nike drops for the seventh straight session

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NKE. Needham & Company LLC cut shares of NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Argus cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $85.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 price target on NIKE and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on NIKE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.90.

NIKE Trading Down 0.7%

NKE opened at $55.70 on Thursday. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $80.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.45 billion, a PE ratio of 32.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.27. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $62.91 and its 200 day moving average is $65.96.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.19 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 5.43%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. NIKE’s payout ratio is presently 96.47%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, Director Timothy D. Cook acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.97 per share, for a total transaction of $2,948,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 105,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,220,155.60. The trade was a 90.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Elliott Hill acquired 16,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $61.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,306.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 241,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,760,965.70. This represents a 7.28% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased a total of 75,079 shares of company stock valued at $4,449,887 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About NIKE

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).