Groupe la Francaise Sells 132,469 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Groupe la Francaise lessened its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 96.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,581 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 132,469 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in NIKE were worth $295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in NIKE by 388.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 202,411 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $15,316,000 after buying an additional 160,980 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 1st quarter valued at $311,000. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 17,067 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 64,161 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $4,558,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 191,268 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $13,588,000 after purchasing an additional 11,646 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NKE. Berenberg Bank set a $49.00 price target on shares of NIKE and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Evercore set a $46.00 target price on NIKE and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In related news, EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $803,439.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 53,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,453,681.94. This trade represents a 24.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NIKE Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NKE opened at $41.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. NIKE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.00 and a 12-month high of $80.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.36.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.09. NIKE had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. NIKE’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.47%.

NIKE 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).