HighTower Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Nicolet Bankshares Inc. $NIC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has acquired a new stake in Nicolet Bankshares Inc., purchasing 3,960 shares valued at approximately $432,000 in the first quarter.
• Nicolet Bankshares recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32, with an annualized yield of 0.9%, payable on September 15th.
• The company's shares opened at $137.84 and have seen a 12-month low of $90.07 and a high of $141.92, indicating robust stock performance.

HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $432,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company's stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,617 shares of the company's stock valued at $799,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $972,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,101 shares of the company's stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. 43.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 6,904 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 34,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric James Witczak sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was 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 directly owned 28,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,039,492.77. The trade was a 14.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,182 shares of company stock worth $2,466,754. 14.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Maxim Group increased their price target on Nicolet Bankshares from $131.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Nicolet Bankshares from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler reissued 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $145.33.

Nicolet Bankshares Trading Up 0.6%

NIC traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $136.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 72,789. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $131.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.21. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.07 and a 52-week high of $141.92.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $95.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.89 million. Nicolet Bankshares had a return on equity of 11.48% and a net margin of 25.12%. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Nicolet Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.70%.

Nicolet Bankshares Company Profile

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.