Virtu Financial LLC Acquires New Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 74,570 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $5,643,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NKE. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the third quarter worth $30,000. Caitlin John LLC increased its holdings in NIKE by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its holdings in NIKE by 110.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. The trade was a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at $65,301,708.56. This represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $68.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $100.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.17 and a 12 month high of $98.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.46.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $75.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.38.

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.