Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Purchases 1,783 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,002 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,783 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $4,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newport Trust Company LLC bought a new position in NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $679,775,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its position in NIKE by 433.5% in the 3rd quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 4,128,587 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $394,775,000 after purchasing an additional 3,354,677 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in NIKE by 117.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,986,441 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $285,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,610,273 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of NIKE by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,791,531 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $553,786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,583,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 3rd quarter valued at $97,724,000. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:NKE traded down $0.70 on Thursday, hitting $93.94. 5,296,510 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,470,656. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.89. NIKE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.66 and a 52 week high of $128.68. The company has a market cap of $141.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The footwear maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.29. NIKE had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 39.41%. The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.28 billion. As a group, analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 3.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on NKE shares. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Williams Trading reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $85.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of NIKE in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $124.00 to $116.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.26.

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.