Leavell Investment Management Inc. Sells 3,152 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 40,122 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 3,152 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $3,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter worth $1,315,097,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of NIKE by 87.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,135,431 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,860,395,000 after purchasing an additional 7,996,434 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,609,613 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,997,628,000 after purchasing an additional 7,143,775 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE during the 3rd quarter worth about $679,775,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in NIKE by 117.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,986,441 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $285,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,610,273 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NKE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on NIKE from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $138.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Williams Trading reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $85.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on NIKE from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.26.

NIKE Price Performance

NKE traded down $1.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $91.40. The company had a trading volume of 7,727,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,240,128. NIKE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.66 and a twelve month high of $123.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.11. The company has a market capitalization of $137.95 billion, a PE ratio of 27.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.74.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The footwear maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.28 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 39.41%. Equities research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 3.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is 43.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NIKE news, VP Johanna Nielsen sold 282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.64, for a total transaction of $26,406.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,357.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other NIKE news, VP Johanna Nielsen sold 282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.64, for a total transaction of $26,406.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,357.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Monique S. Matheson sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total value of $4,237,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,997 shares in the company, valued at $4,236,917.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 213,660 shares of company stock worth $19,946,333 over the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NIKE 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.