Sage Investment Counsel LLC Makes New Investment in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Sage Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 9,403 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $712,000. NIKE accounts for approximately 0.9% of Sage Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NKE. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Caitlin John LLC raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 117.0% during 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 period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the third quarter worth $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE opened at $79.43 on Friday. NIKE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.62 and a twelve month high of $105.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $74.64 and a 200-day moving average of $78.33. The firm has a market cap of $117.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s payout ratio is 49.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of NIKE from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.