Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Raises Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,326 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 227 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $1,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cim LLC acquired a new stake in NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at about $14,275,000. TKG Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,012,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,034,000. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,668,949 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $506,908,000 after buying an additional 192,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 10,184.3% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,131 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $42,139,000 after buying an additional 384,357 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Monique S. Matheson sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total value of $4,237,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,236,917.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Monique S. Matheson sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total transaction of $4,237,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,236,917.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.97, for a total transaction of $8,026,700.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,102,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,419,507.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 323,660 shares of company stock valued at $27,973,033. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NKE traded up $1.15 on Friday, reaching $72.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,891,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,169,120. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $85.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.69. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.91 and a 52-week high of $123.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.01.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The footwear maker reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.16. NIKE had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 42.63%. The business had revenue of $12.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. NIKE’s payout ratio is 39.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NKE. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, June 28th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $115.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (down previously from $116.00) on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, June 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.30.

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.