Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 25,725 Shares of Nicolet Bankshares Inc. $NIC

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has reduced its holding in Nicolet Bankshares by 25.9%, selling 25,725 shares and now owning 73,781 shares worth approximately $8 million.
• Nicolet Bankshares has received several analyst upgrades, including a new price target of $161.00 from Maxim Group and a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target of $145.33.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.0%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC - Free Report) by 25.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,781 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,725 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of Nicolet Bankshares worth $8,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 5.5% during the first quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 888,335 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,793,000 after purchasing an additional 45,950 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 745,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,205,000 after purchasing an additional 8,147 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 0.9% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 234,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,031 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $15,303,000. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 46,088 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,835,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. 43.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on NIC. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $140.00 price target (up from $122.50) on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Nicolet Bankshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Maxim Group boosted their target price on Nicolet Bankshares from $131.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Nicolet Bankshares from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nicolet Bankshares presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $145.33.

Nicolet Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NIC opened at $134.54 on Friday. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.07 and a twelve month high of $141.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $132.84 and a 200 day moving average of $122.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 0.77.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $95.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.89 million. Nicolet Bankshares had a return on equity of 11.48% and a net margin of 25.12%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nicolet Bankshares Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nicolet Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Nicolet Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 6,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.47, for a total transaction of $962,900.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,772,663.40. This represents a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric James Witczak sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $698,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,039,492.77. This trade represents a 14.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,056 shares of company stock worth $2,096,949. Corporate insiders own 16.40% of the company's stock.

About Nicolet Bankshares

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Nicolet National Bank that provides banking products and services for businesses and individuals in Wisconsin and Michigan. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market accounts; various certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NIC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.