Heartland Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 55,758 Nicolet Bankshares Inc. $NIC

Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 55,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,222,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned 0.27% of Nicolet Bankshares as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NIC. PDT Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 5,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 23,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 9.3% in the first quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. 43.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nicolet Bankshares

In other news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 2,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.24, for a total value of $453,178.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 34,483 shares in the company, valued at $5,870,385.92. This represents a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eric James Witczak sold 1,215 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.89, for a total value of $203,986.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 33,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,646,140.70. This represents a 3.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,219 shares of company stock worth $715,976. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NIC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Piper Sandler set a $194.00 price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.00.

Nicolet Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NIC opened at $173.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 0.65. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.11 and a 52 week high of $180.00.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $177.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.93 million. Nicolet Bankshares had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 11.36%. On average, equities analysts predict that Nicolet Bankshares Inc. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Nicolet Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 16.35%.

Nicolet Bankshares Profile

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Through its subsidiary, Nicolet National Bank, it provides a range of commercial and consumer banking services to businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations across northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The company’s branch network, digital banking platform and commercial lending centers support its focus on community banking and regional growth.

The company offers deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside consumer and commercial lending solutions.