Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 13,613 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 279,837 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 13,613 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $21,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NKE. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NIKE during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Caitlin John LLC lifted its position in NIKE by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in NIKE during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in NIKE during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in NIKE during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This 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. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at $65,301,708.56. This represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NIKE stock opened at $77.36 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01. NIKE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.62 and a 1-year high of $102.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $74.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.25.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. NIKE’s payout ratio is 49.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NKE. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.77.

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.