Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 7,777 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Merit Financial Group LLC reduced its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 48.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,307 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 7,777 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 37,510 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at $8,034,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in NIKE by 2,332.5% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 184,042 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $17,598,000 after buying an additional 176,476 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in NIKE by 10,184.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,131 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $42,139,000 after buying an additional 384,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 194,164 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $21,080,000 after purchasing an additional 69,363 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on NKE. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on NIKE from $127.00 to $117.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on NIKE from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on NIKE from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on NIKE from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered NIKE from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, February 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.26.

NIKE Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:NKE opened at $92.15 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.66 and a 12 month high of $127.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.04. The company has a market capitalization of $139.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.07.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The footwear maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.28 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.53%.

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.