Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 843,891 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 37,434 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $63,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Aviva PLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 613,530 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $46,426,000 after buying an additional 219,692 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,037,000. Riverwater Partners LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $351,000. Finally, Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR raised its stake in NIKE by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 70,568 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $5,340,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE Trading Up 2.9 %

NKE stock opened at $57.17 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.50 and a twelve month high of $98.04.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NKE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of NIKE from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial cut their price target on NIKE from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. China Renaissance assumed coverage on NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NIKE has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.38.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total value of $12,361,581.56. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.