Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on NIC. Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $131.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $140.00 target price (up previously from $122.50) on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:NIC traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $139.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 115,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,698. Nicolet Bankshares has a 12-month low of $85.68 and a 12-month high of $141.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $123.94 and a 200-day moving average of $116.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.21. Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 25.12% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $95.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.89 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nicolet Bankshares will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Nicolet Bankshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Nicolet Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.70%.

Insider Activity at Nicolet Bankshares

In other Nicolet Bankshares news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 6,192 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.85, for a total value of $717,343.20. Following the sale, the director owned 33,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,583.60. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Merkatoris sold 3,700 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.58, for a total transaction of $401,746.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 78,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,492,910.44. This trade represents a 4.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,226 shares of company stock valued at $1,884,826 over the last ninety days. 16.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Nicolet Bankshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $231,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 6.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 29,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 6.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Nicolet Bankshares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,434,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,819 shares of the company's stock worth $1,288,000 after buying an additional 1,557 shares in the last quarter. 43.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.