Empowered Funds LLC Grows Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 10.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,214 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,243 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $2,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in NIKE during the first quarter worth about $727,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in NIKE by 51.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 825 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 1st quarter worth $612,000. Shell Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 16,342 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,536,000 after purchasing an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 86.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,957 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 9,689 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NKE stock opened at $73.33 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $109.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.03. NIKE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.75 and a 12-month high of $123.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $80.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.83.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $11.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.64 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 39.84%. NIKE’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 42.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of NIKE from $112.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NIKE from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.30.

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.