Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Nicolet Bankshares Inc. $NIC

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) by 67.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,992 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,242 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Nicolet Bankshares were worth $4,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 737,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,468,000 after acquiring an additional 22,474 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 458,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,643,000 after purchasing an additional 26,893 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 199,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,789,000 after purchasing an additional 57,536 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 91.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 120,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,582,000 after purchasing an additional 57,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 196.0% during the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 84,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,275,000 after purchasing an additional 56,086 shares during the last quarter. 43.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 2,662 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.24, for a total transaction of $453,178.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,870,385.92. This trade represents a 7.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on NIC. Zacks Research raised Nicolet Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler set a $194.00 price target on Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Hovde Group decreased their price objective on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.00.

Nicolet Bankshares Price Performance

NIC stock opened at $173.02 on Wednesday. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.11 and a 1 year high of $173.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $154.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $149.92. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.35%.

Nicolet Bankshares Company 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.