Granite Investment Partners LLC Sells 1,335 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Granite Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,958 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 1,335 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $4,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AR Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NIKE by 0.5% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of NIKE by 28.0% in 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 period. GM Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in NIKE by 3.2% during the second quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,638 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE by 10.0% in the 2nd 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. Finally, Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in NIKE by 20.6% during the second quarter. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.97, for a total transaction of $8,026,700.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,419,507.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.97, for a total value of $8,026,700.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,419,507.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 2,941 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $77.02 per share, for a total transaction of $226,515.82. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,613,260.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NIKE Stock Up 6.9 %

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $86.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.75 and a 12 month high of $123.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.02.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The footwear maker reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. NIKE had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 42.63%. The firm had revenue of $12.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. NIKE’s payout ratio is 39.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NKE shares. Williams Trading upgraded shares of NIKE from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $93.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on NIKE from $113.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $115.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.15.

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.