Steph & Co. Reduces Position in Nicolet Bankshares Inc. $NIC

Steph & Co. trimmed its stake in Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) by 7.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,540 shares of the company’s stock after selling 750 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Bankshares makes up 0.4% of Steph & Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Steph & Co. owned approximately 0.06% of Nicolet Bankshares worth $1,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 20,603.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 6,181 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares during the first quarter worth about $432,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 0.9% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 234,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,554,000 after buying an additional 2,031 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares during the first quarter worth $1,642,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the first quarter valued at $405,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on NIC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Nicolet Bankshares from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $131.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 6,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.47, for a total transaction of $962,900.88. Following the sale, the director directly owned 34,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,772,663.40. This trade represents a 16.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eric James Witczak sold 1,588 shares of the company’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 value of $221,398.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,029,377.42. This represents a 5.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,056 shares of company stock worth $2,096,949. Company insiders own 16.40% of the company’s stock.

Nicolet Bankshares Price Performance

Nicolet Bankshares stock opened at $132.31 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $133.10 and a 200-day moving average of $123.04. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.07 and a 52-week high of $141.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19 and a beta of 0.77.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share 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 11.48%. The firm had revenue of $95.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.89 million. As a group, analysts predict that Nicolet Bankshares Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.70%.

Nicolet Bankshares Company 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.