Generali Investments Management Co LLC Invests $2.20 Million in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 29,113 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,203,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NKE. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 6,029.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,821,270 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $516,166,000 after purchasing an additional 6,709,985 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 1,209,638.7% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 6,508,394 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $575,342,000 after purchasing an additional 6,507,856 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in NIKE by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,367,993 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,541,246,000 after acquiring an additional 3,121,929 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in NIKE by 358.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,015,267 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $228,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,357,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at $156,438,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NKE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.54.

NIKE Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NIKE stock opened at $73.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $108.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.62 and a 52-week high of $101.92. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The firm’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

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.