Empirical Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Empirical Asset Management LLC raised its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 487.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,864 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,824 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $1,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in NIKE by 10.0% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 223,044 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $16,811,000 after buying an additional 20,353 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,638 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in NIKE by 28.0% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 97,112 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $7,319,000 after purchasing an additional 21,259 shares during the last quarter. AR Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NIKE by 0.5% in the second quarter. AR Asset Management Inc. now owns 78,770 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $5,937,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in NIKE by 283.8% in the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 137,859 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $10,390,000 after purchasing an additional 101,937 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial cut their target price on NIKE from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.96.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NIKE Price Performance

NIKE stock opened at $70.89 on Friday. 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 $70.32 and a one year high of $107.43. The company has a market cap of $104.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.96.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The firm had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

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.