Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Reduces Stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. lowered its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,175 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after selling 1,125 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in NIKE by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in NIKE by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 75,274 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $6,654,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. McAdam LLC boosted its position in NIKE by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,852 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its position in NIKE by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 624 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson upgraded NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.62.

NIKE Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NKE opened at $76.50 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $74.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.09. The stock has a market cap of $113.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.01. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.62 and a 52-week high of $106.62.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

NIKE Profile

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.