Nike hikes dividend by 12.2%

NIKE, Inc. (NKE) will raise its quarterly dividend by 12.2 percent to 27.5 cents per share in 2020. This follows a 11.4 percent increase to $0.245 per share announced in 2019 by the footwear and apparel company. NIKE has now raised its dividend for 19 consecutive years.

The next dividend declared today is payable on December 29, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business December 7, 2020. A new annual rate of $1.10 per share yields 0.8% at a stock price of $133.

“Today’s announcement marks NIKE’s 19th consecutive year of increasing dividend payouts,” said John Donahoe, President and CEO, NIKE, Inc. in the company's press release announcing this dividend hike. “This dividend increase reflects NIKE’s financial strength and strong track record of returning capital to shareholders while continuing to invest in capabilities that will accelerate our digital transformation and fuel long-term profitable growth.”

NIKE will now pay its shareholders an estimated $1.7 billion in dividends annually. The company's average annual dividend increase in the last five years is 11.4 percent. In the last 11 years NIKE has announced a double digit dividend hike every year.

NIKE, Inc. is a designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. The company’s brands include Converse, which designs, markets and distributes athletic lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories; and Hurley, which designs, markets and distributes surf and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories. The company has been paying a dividend to shareholders every year since at least 1986.