Zullo Investment Group Inc. Sells 926 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Zullo Investment Group Inc. cut its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 926 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Caitlin John LLC increased its position in NIKE by 117.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Stock Down 1.0 %

NIKE stock opened at $76.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.06. NIKE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.62 and a 1-year high of $106.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NKE. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.62.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This represents a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NIKE Company 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.