Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Boosts Holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC boosted its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,914 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in NIKE were worth $425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,502,409 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,769,200,000 after purchasing an additional 125,746 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in NIKE by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,557,676 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,487,625,000 after buying an additional 674,198 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in NIKE by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,200,932 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $766,829,000 after buying an additional 89,947 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE in the third quarter valued at approximately $679,775,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in NIKE by 37.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,791,531 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $553,786,000 after buying an additional 1,583,541 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NKE stock traded down $1.80 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $92.26. The stock had a trading volume of 6,471,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,340,923. The company has a market cap of $139.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. NIKE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.66 and a 12-month high of $128.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.28.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The footwear maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.28 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 39.41%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NKE. HSBC cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Oppenheimer cut NIKE from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on NIKE from $134.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.26.

NIKE Company 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.