Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 246 Shares of Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,331 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Nicolet Bankshares were worth $268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 6,285 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Nicolet Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at $238,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 556,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,865,000 after buying an additional 195,707 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 1.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $994,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 1.4% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 29,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,031,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. 43.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NIC shares. Hovde Group raised shares of Nicolet Bankshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $92.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. TheStreet upgraded Nicolet Bankshares from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Nicolet Bankshares from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Nicolet Bankshares from $88.00 to $82.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.88.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock opened at $80.62 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $80.94 and a 200-day moving average of $78.64. Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.47 and a 1-year high of $86.86.

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Nicolet Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nicolet Bankshares

In other news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $163,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,513,895.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 16.40% of the company’s stock.

Nicolet Bankshares 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.