Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 3,011 Shares of Nicolet Bankshares Inc. $NIC

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its ownership in Nicolet Bankshares by 8.7%, acquiring an additional 3,011 shares, bringing its total holdings to 37,570 shares valued at approximately $4.64 million.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Nicolet Bankshares, with Maxim Group increasing its target from $131 to $161, resulting in a consensus price target of $145.33.
• Nicolet Bankshares recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.35 per share, exceeding expectations, alongside a dividend payout of $0.32 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.9%.

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC - Free Report) by 8.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,570 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,011 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC owned about 0.25% of Nicolet Bankshares worth $4,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NIC. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in Nicolet Bankshares during the first quarter worth $95,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares during the 1st quarter valued at about $210,000. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in Nicolet Bankshares in the 1st quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Nicolet Bankshares during the first quarter worth approximately $288,000. 43.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NIC shares. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $131.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $140.00 price target (up from $122.50) on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Nicolet Bankshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $145.33.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NIC opened at $135.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.23. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.24 and a 52 week high of $141.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.73.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $95.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.89 million. Nicolet Bankshares had a return on equity of 11.48% and a net margin of 25.12%. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Nicolet Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nicolet Bankshares

In other Nicolet Bankshares 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 transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eric James Witczak sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,039,492.77. This represents a 14.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,056 shares of company stock valued at $2,096,949. 14.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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