Avestar Capital LLC Sells 1,937 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Avestar Capital LLC trimmed its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,754 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 1,937 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. VitalStone Financial LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE by 52.6% during the 3rd quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 435 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in NIKE by 272.5% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 514 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE during the second quarter valued at about $44,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NIKE during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in NIKE during the second quarter worth about $47,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on NIKE from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.86.

NIKE Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $77.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.44 and a 200 day moving average of $82.32. NIKE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.75 and a 1 year high of $123.39. The stock has a market cap of $116.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.18. NIKE had a return on equity of 39.84% and a net margin of 10.60%. The business had revenue of $11.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. NIKE’s payout ratio is presently 42.41%.

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.