NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Stake Lessened by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC cut its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 195,005 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 1,286 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $14,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. JNBA Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 10,045 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,036 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 20,446 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,014 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE opened at $79.43 on Friday. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.62 and a 12 month high of $105.57. The company’s fifty day moving average is $74.64 and its 200-day moving average is $78.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $117.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. NIKE’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. NIKE’s payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NKE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.77.

About NIKE

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.