Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Holdings in Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,543 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 592 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Nicolet Bankshares were worth $3,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Nicolet Bankshares in the third quarter valued at about $155,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Nicolet Bankshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $264,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Nicolet Bankshares by 858.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,617 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 31.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nicolet Bankshares in the third quarter valued at $412,000. Institutional investors own 43.06% of the company’s stock.

Nicolet Bankshares Stock Performance

NYSE:NIC opened at $106.30 on Monday. Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.00 and a 52-week high of $116.17. The business’s fifty day moving average is $108.67 and its 200 day moving average is $100.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 0.77.

Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Nicolet Bankshares’s payout ratio is 14.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brad Vincent Hutjens sold 1,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.85, for a total transaction of $110,975.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,674 shares in the company, valued at $2,743,420.90. The trade was a 3.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Bruce Atwell sold 7,609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $859,817.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,831 shares in the company, valued at $3,709,903. This represents a 18.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 85,599 shares of company stock worth $9,326,168. 16.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NIC. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Nicolet Bankshares from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Nicolet Bankshares from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.00.

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.