Axa S.A. Reduces Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Axa S.A. lowered its position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 817,247 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 35,126 shares during the period. Axa S.A. owned about 0.05% of NIKE worth $100,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lifted its stake in NIKE by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 29,026 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $3,396,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in NIKE by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 29,977 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $3,508,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in NIKE by 2.9% in the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,896 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank lifted its stake in NIKE by 1.2% in the first quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 6,940 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. lifted its stake in NIKE by 2.9% in the first quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,029 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other NIKE news, CFO Matthew Friend sold 5,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total value of $593,315.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,506,733. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other NIKE news, CFO Matthew Friend sold 5,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total value of $593,315.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,506,733. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Monique S. Matheson sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.59, for a total value of $4,343,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,857,882.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 157,251 shares of company stock worth $17,063,257 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on NKE shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Sunday, July 2nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $135.00 to $125.00 in a report on Friday, June 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, June 30th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.28.

NIKE Trading Down 0.3 %

NIKE stock opened at $97.67 on Friday. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.22 and a 12 month high of $131.31. The firm has a market cap of $149.43 billion, a PE ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.50.

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

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 1st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.11%.

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.