Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in 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. reduced its position in Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC - Free Report) by 25.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 29,778 shares of the company's stock worth $3,245,000 after buying an additional 1,922 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $886,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares during the 1st quarter valued at $1,434,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 150.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,524,000 after acquiring an additional 8,410 shares during the period. 43.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nicolet Bankshares Price Performance

NYSE NIC traded down $0.92 on Friday, reaching $135.69. 35,928 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 71,378. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.07 and a 12 month high of $141.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.48. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Nicolet Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NIC has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up previously from $122.50) on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $131.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nicolet Bankshares presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $145.33.

Insider Activity at Nicolet Bankshares

In related news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 6,904 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.47, for a total value of $962,900.88. Following the sale, the director owned 34,220 shares in the company, valued at $4,772,663.40. The trade was a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eric James Witczak sold 5,000 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total transaction of $698,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,901 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold 15,056 shares of company stock worth $2,096,949 in the last 90 days. Company 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.