Martin Currie Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Martin Currie Ltd. reduced its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 8.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 635,185 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 58,778 shares during the quarter. NIKE comprises approximately 2.8% of Martin Currie Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Martin Currie Ltd.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $77,899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE during the 1st quarter valued at about $403,000. Salvus Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 1st quarter worth approximately $215,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 29,927 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,670,000 after purchasing an additional 3,511 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 386,867 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $27,486,000 after purchasing an additional 90,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 51,563 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $6,324,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. 63.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on NKE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $152.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 28th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on NIKE from $138.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. Barclays dropped their price target on NIKE from $127.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Friday, June 30th. VNET Group reissued a “maintains” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, June 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.68.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE NKE traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $102.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,359,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,900,115. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.22 and a 12 month high of $131.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The company has a market cap of $156.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.11.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 29th. The footwear maker reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.02). NIKE had a return on equity of 34.01% and a net margin of 9.90%. The company had revenue of $12.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 5th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 1st. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 42.11%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.58, for a total transaction of $11,943,800.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,334,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,930,520.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other NIKE news, EVP Monique S. Matheson sold 40,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.59, for a total transaction of $4,343,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,857,882.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.58, for a total transaction of $11,943,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,334,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $144,930,520.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 166,461 shares of company stock worth $18,053,332. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.