Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Takes Position in Nicolet Bankshares Inc. $NIC

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,650,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NIC. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 86.3% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,027,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,676,000 after buying an additional 1,402,419 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 819,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,756,000 after buying an additional 198,997 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 737,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,468,000 after purchasing an additional 22,474 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 458,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,643,000 after buying an additional 26,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Nicolet Bankshares in the first quarter worth approximately $31,794,000. Institutional investors own 43.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 2,662 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.24, for a total transaction of $453,178.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,483 shares in the company, valued at $5,870,385.92. This represents a 7.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Eric James Witczak sold 1,215 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.89, for a total value of $203,986.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,646,140.70. The trade was a 3.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 4,219 shares of company stock valued at $715,976 in the last three months. 7.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NIC. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Nicolet Bankshares from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler set a $194.00 target price on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Nicolet Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nicolet Bankshares currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.00.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NIC opened at $172.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63 and a beta of 0.65. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. has a one year low of $114.11 and a one year high of $180.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $167.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.84.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.14. Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $177.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.93 million. As a group, analysts expect that Nicolet Bankshares Inc. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Nicolet Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 16.35%.

Nicolet Bankshares Company Profile

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Through its subsidiary, Nicolet National Bank, it provides a range of commercial and consumer banking services to businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations across northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The company’s branch network, digital banking platform and commercial lending centers support its focus on community banking and regional growth.

The company offers deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside consumer and commercial lending solutions.