Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Buys 14,501 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 39.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,617 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 14,501 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $3,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Caitlin John LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 117.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NIKE Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:NKE opened at $78.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $116.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.62 and a fifty-two week high of $102.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.21.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $12.35 billion for 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 firm posted $1.03 EPS. Analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. NIKE’s payout ratio is 49.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NKE. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, NIKE has a consensus 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.