Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 9,000 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 262,892 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in NIKE were worth $19,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Delta Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $567,000. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,436 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,603 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Pavion Blue Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 266.5% during the fourth quarter. Pavion Blue Capital LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 7,635 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,263 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $76.50 on Friday. NIKE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.62 and a twelve month high of $106.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.13. The company has a market capitalization of $113.15 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NKE has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About NIKE

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.