Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 367 Shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,034 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock after buying an additional 367 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in DICK’S Sporting Goods were worth $694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its position in DICK’S Sporting Goods by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 28,182 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock valued at $6,449,000 after acquiring an additional 7,692 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in DICK’S Sporting Goods by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 5,231 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in DICK’S Sporting Goods by 88.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,792 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in DICK’S Sporting Goods by 298.8% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,756 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock valued at $2,919,000 after acquiring an additional 19,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in DICK’S Sporting Goods during the fourth quarter valued at $1,893,210,000. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DKS. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.50.

Insider Transactions at DICK’S Sporting Goods

In other news, Chairman Edward W. Stack sold 160,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.25, for a total transaction of $36,817,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 8,362,128 shares in the company, valued at $1,917,017,844. This trade represents a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Julie Lodge-Jarrett sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $1,139,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,762,746.96. This trade represents a 23.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,933 shares of company stock worth $39,655,456 in the last quarter. Insiders own 32.03% of the company’s stock.

DICK’S Sporting Goods Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:DKS opened at $195.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market cap of $15.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.53. DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $182.84 and a 52 week high of $254.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $225.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.84.

DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The sporting goods retailer reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.15. DICK’S Sporting Goods had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 42.00%. The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. will post 13.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

DICK’S Sporting Goods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.2125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $4.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. This is a positive change from DICK’S Sporting Goods’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. DICK’S Sporting Goods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.54%.

DICK’S Sporting Goods declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the sporting goods retailer to purchase up to 18.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About DICK’S Sporting Goods

Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc engages in the retailing of an extensive assortment of authentic sports equipment, apparel, footwear, and accessories. It also offers its products both online and through mobile applications. The company was founded by Richard T. Stack in 1948 and is headquartered in Coraopolis, PA.