Avanza Fonder AB Invests $9.02 Million in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 119,182 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $9,019,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the third quarter worth $30,000. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 52.6% in the third quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 435 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 493 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Ecofi Investissements SA acquired a new position in NIKE during the second quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the third quarter valued at about $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen cut their target price on NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Piper Sandler raised shares of NIKE from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.96.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE opened at $71.14 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $75.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.32 and a 1 year high of $107.43.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted 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 net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

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.