Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 8,537 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 34.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,478 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 8,537 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $1,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Caitlin John LLC increased its stake in NIKE by 117.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Up 1.3 %

NKE stock opened at $78.68 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.76 and a 200 day moving average of $78.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.62 and a 52 week high of $102.49.

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 business had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s payout ratio is 49.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NKE. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.