First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Expands Investment in NIKE, Inc.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. has increased its investment in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 30.9% during the last quarter of the year. This information comes from the company’s latest Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Following this investment, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now holds 78,606 shares of NIKE’s stock, having purchased an additional 18,553 shares during the quarter. The total value of these holdings reached $5,948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Institutional Interest in NIKE

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also adjusted their positions in NIKE. For instance, State Street Corp has raised its stake in NIKE by 3.3% in the third quarter, now owning 57,916,789 shares, worth $5,140,796,000, after acquiring an extra 1,862,021 shares. Similarly, Wellington Management Group LLP increased their stake by 5.1%, acquiring 27,442,145 shares valued at $2,425,886,000. Other notable investors include Geode Capital Management LLC, Fisher Asset Management LLC, and Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc., each of whom has recorded increases in their stakes during the same period. Overall, 64.25% of NIKE's stock is owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.

Analyst Insights

Investment analysts have recently provided their assessments of NIKE. For example, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price for NIKE shares from $110.00 to $105.00 while maintaining an "outperform" rating. Royal Bank of Canada has also lowered its price target, now set at $80.00, and categorized it as a "sector perform" stock. Other analysts like Guggenheim and Stifel Nicolaus have terminated their previous price targets and issued various ratings for the stock. The general sentiment among analysts includes fourteen hold ratings, sixteen buy ratings, and one strong buy rating. MarketBeat.com reports an average rating of "Moderate Buy" for NIKE shares, with an average target price of $89.96.

Insider Transactions

In addition to institutional buying, insider activity is noteworthy. On December 27th, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of NIKE at an average price of $76.65 per share, totaling $191,625. This acquisition raised his holdings to 34,403 shares, valued at around $2,636,989.95, reflecting a 7.84% increase in his ownership. Presently, corporate insiders hold about 1.10% of NIKE’s stock.

Stock Performance Overview

As of the most recent trading day, NIKE shares opened at $73.60. The stock exhibits a 50-day moving average price of $75.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.86. NIKE has a market capitalization of $108.86 billion with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 22.72. Over the past year, the stock has fluctuated between a low of $70.32 and a high of $107.43.

Earnings Report Highlights

NIKE, Inc. last disclosed its quarterly earnings on December 19th, reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $0.78, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The company generated revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, which exceeded the expected $12.11 billion. However, the revenue represented a 7.7% decline compared to the previous year. Analysts forecast that NIKE will report earnings of 2.1 per share for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Update

Recently, NIKE announced a quarterly dividend that was distributed on January 2nd. Shareholders as of December 2nd received a dividend of $0.40 per share, an increase from the prior quarter's dividend of $0.37. This increase translates to an annualized dividend of $1.60, with a dividend yield of 2.17% and a payout ratio of 49.38%.

Company Overview

NIKE, Inc., alongside its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services globally. The company offers sports and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories under brands like Jumpman, Converse, and several others.

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