First Trust Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Nicolet Bankshares Inc. $NIC

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 540,486 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,473 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 3.65% of Nicolet Bankshares worth $72,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NIC. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 7.1% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $837,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 13,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 4,311 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 71.8% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Nicolet Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,213,000 after purchasing an additional 2,709 shares during the last quarter. 43.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NIC opened at $150.42 on Tuesday. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. has a 12-month low of $97.90 and a 12-month high of $163.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $143.40 and a 200 day moving average of $134.14.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $103.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.67 million. Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 26.98% and a return on equity of 12.49%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nicolet Bankshares Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 6,396 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.47, for a total transaction of $994,386.12. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 34,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,375.38. The trade was a 15.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 14.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NIC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Hovde Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Maxim Group upped their price objective on Nicolet Bankshares from $161.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.50.

Nicolet Bankshares 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.