Ritholtz Wealth Management Trims Stock Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Ritholtz Wealth Management cut its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,844 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 858 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in NIKE were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BFI Infinity Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth $255,000. Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in NIKE by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 72,986 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $5,523,000 after acquiring an additional 30,011 shares in the last quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter worth about $231,000. Essex Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 53.9% in the 4th quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 10,707 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $810,000 after purchasing an additional 3,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Presilium Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Presilium Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,700 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Trading Down 0.3 %

NIKE stock opened at $70.89 on Tuesday. NIKE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.32 and a 12-month high of $107.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.95.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The firm had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NKE. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on NIKE from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NIKE currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.