Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $895,000 Position in Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,531 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Nicolet Bankshares were worth $895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 748.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Nicolet Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $61,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in Nicolet Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth about $128,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.06% of the company’s stock.

Nicolet Bankshares Price Performance

NIC opened at $122.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.95. Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $76.01 and a one year high of $125.05.

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $89.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.08 million. Nicolet Bankshares had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 23.83%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nicolet Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Nicolet Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Nicolet Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 13.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NIC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Maxim Group increased their price target on Nicolet Bankshares from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Nicolet Bankshares from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Nicolet Bankshares from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th.

Insider Activity at Nicolet Bankshares

In related news, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 6,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.85, for a total transaction of $717,343.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,917,583.60. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan L. Merkatoris sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.26, for a total transaction of $34,578.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 81,918 shares in the company, valued at $9,441,868.68. This represents a 0.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,294 shares of company stock worth $1,518,618 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 16.40% of the company’s stock.

About Nicolet Bankshares

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.