Range Financial Group LLC Buys New Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,484 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $642,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Garrison Point Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 20.0% in the third quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 768 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in NIKE by 26.3% in the third quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 624 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 1.2% during the third quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 11,430 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 8,396 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $72.15. The stock had a trading volume of 10,446,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,571,836. The stock has a market cap of $108.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.36. NIKE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.75 and a 12-month high of $107.43.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 39.84% and a net margin of 10.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.58.

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.