Pegasus Asset Management Inc. Buys 1,752 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Pegasus Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 29,762 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,752 shares during the quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in NIKE were worth $2,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter worth about $642,000. Cacti Asset Management LLC bought a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,987,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new position in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,384,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 25,835 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,955,000 after acquiring an additional 6,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 5,745.9% in the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,652 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 8,504 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NKE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.62.

NIKE Stock Up 6.2 %

NYSE NKE opened at $77.54 on Wednesday. NIKE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.62 and a 52 week high of $106.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $114.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $74.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.07.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its earnings results 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. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

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

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.