Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 96,387 Shares of Nicolet Bankshares Inc. $NIC

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) by 344.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 124,379 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 96,387 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.59% of Nicolet Bankshares worth $20,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Nicolet Bankshares during the first quarter valued at about $31,794,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 819,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,756,000 after purchasing an additional 198,997 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth about $7,949,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 247.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 82,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,058,000 after purchasing an additional 59,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 40.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Nicolet Bankshares from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Hovde Group reduced their price target 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 initiated coverage on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler set a $194.00 target price on shares of Nicolet Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.00.

Nicolet Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock opened at $178.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. has a one year low of $114.11 and a one year high of $180.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Nicolet Bankshares Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Nicolet Bankshares

In other Nicolet Bankshares news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 2,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.24, for a total value of $453,178.88. Following the sale, the director owned 34,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,870,385.92. This trade represents a 7.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric James Witczak sold 342 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.96, for a total transaction of $58,810.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,288 shares in the company, valued at $5,724,204.48. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 4,219 shares of company stock valued at $715,976 in the last three months. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.