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

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares Inc. (NYSE:NIC) by 344.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 124,379 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 96,387 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Nicolet Bankshares were worth $20,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 3,940.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 192.9% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 151.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $102,000. Institutional investors own 43.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NIC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Nicolet Bankshares in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler set a $194.00 target price on Nicolet Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Hovde Group decreased their target price on Nicolet Bankshares from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Nicolet Bankshares from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nicolet Bankshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Eric James Witczak sold 1,215 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.89, for a total value of $203,986.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 33,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,646,140.70. The trade was a 3.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 owned 34,483 shares in the company, valued at $5,870,385.92. The trade was a 7.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 4,219 shares of company stock valued at $715,976 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NIC stock opened at $178.94 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $163.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.11 and a 12 month high of $180.00.

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

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 16.35%.

About Nicolet Bankshares

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.