Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD Grows Stock Position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD boosted its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 89.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 64,152 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 30,357 shares during the period. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD’s holdings in NIKE were worth $4,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NKE. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Caitlin John LLC raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Price Performance

NKE stock opened at $74.21 on Wednesday. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.62 and a 52-week high of $102.49. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.02. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $109.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total value of $12,361,581.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NKE. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on NIKE from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.