First Trust Advisors LP Cuts Stake in Nicolet Bankshares Inc. $NIC

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) by 32.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 262,124 shares of the company’s stock after selling 126,364 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 1.23% of Nicolet Bankshares worth $38,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. PDT Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 1.8% during 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 during 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 valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 23,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,829,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 3,940.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.06% of the company’s stock.

Nicolet Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NIC opened at $167.75 on Tuesday. 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 current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $153.96 and its 200 day moving average is $149.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04 and a beta of 0.65.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.85 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $177.75 million during 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, sell-side analysts expect that Nicolet Bankshares Inc. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NIC. Hovde Group dropped their target price on Nicolet Bankshares from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Nicolet Bankshares from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Piper Sandler set a $194.00 price target on Nicolet Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research raised Nicolet Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Nicolet Bankshares from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.00.

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.