Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Boosts Stock Position in 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 Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC - Free Report) by 218.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NIC traded down $0.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $136.86. 10,325 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 72,524. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $131.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 0.77. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.07 and a 12-month high of $141.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.21. Nicolet Bankshares had a return on equity of 11.48% and a net margin of 25.12%.The firm had revenue of $95.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.89 million. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Nicolet Bankshares's payout ratio is currently 14.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $122.50) on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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. Maxim Group increased their price objective on Nicolet Bankshares from $131.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Nicolet Bankshares has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $145.33.

Insider Activity at Nicolet Bankshares

In other Nicolet Bankshares news, EVP Eric James Witczak sold 1,588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.42, for a total transaction of $221,398.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,029,377.42. The trade was a 5.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 6,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,772,663.40. This trade represents a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 16.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nicolet Bankshares 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.