Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 6,320 Shares of Nicolet Bankshares Inc. $NIC

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. significantly increased its stake in Nicolet Bankshares Inc. by 218.8% in Q1, owning 9,209 shares worth approximately $1 million.
• Director Robert Bruce Atwell and EVP Eric James Witczak sold shares of Nicolet Bankshares, indicating a combined decrease of 16.79% and 5.21% in their respective ownership.
• Nicolet Bankshares announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, payable on September 15th, reflecting an annual yield of 0.9%.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC - Free Report) by 218.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,209 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,320 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 0.06% of Nicolet Bankshares worth $1,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the first quarter worth about $95,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Nicolet Bankshares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $210,000. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares during the first quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Nicolet Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth about $240,000. Institutional investors own 43.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Maxim Group boosted their price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $131.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up previously from $122.50) on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a report 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Nicolet Bankshares from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nicolet Bankshares currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $145.33.

Insider Transactions at Nicolet Bankshares

In related news, EVP Eric James Witczak sold 1,588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.42, for a total transaction of $221,398.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,901 shares in the company, valued at $4,029,377.42. The trade was a 5.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 6,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.47, for a total transaction of $962,900.88. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,220 shares in the company, valued at $4,772,663.40. This represents a 16.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,182 shares of company stock valued at $2,466,754. Company insiders own 14.20% of the company's stock.

Nicolet Bankshares Price Performance

NIC stock traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $136.84. 21,292 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 72,795. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $131.71 and a 200 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $95.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.89 million. Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 25.12% and a return on equity of 11.48%. As a group, analysts expect that Nicolet Bankshares Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Nicolet Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.70%.

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.