Ellsworth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 55.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,729 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,567 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $2,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in NIKE during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its position in NIKE by 52.6% during the third quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 435 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 52.2% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 493 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Ecofi Investissements SA bought a new position in NIKE in the second quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the third quarter valued at about $52,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler raised NIKE from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,636,989.95. The trade was a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NIKE Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NKE opened at $70.89 on Monday. NIKE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.32 and a 52 week high of $107.43. The company’s 50 day moving average is $75.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.94. The company has a market cap of $104.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. NIKE’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.38%.

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.