Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Increases Stock Position in NiCE $NICE

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,029,121 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,973 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 1.63% of NiCE worth $148,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new stake in NiCE during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of NiCE by 65.3% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 329 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of NiCE during the second quarter valued at $60,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in NiCE during the 2nd quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in NiCE by 1,388.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 402 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.34% of the company’s stock.

NiCE Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:NICE opened at $115.90 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.69. The company has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.96. NiCE has a 52-week low of $94.65 and a 52-week high of $180.61.

NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The technology company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.01. NiCE had a return on equity of 18.26% and a net margin of 20.78%.The company had revenue of $786.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.02 EPS. NiCE’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. NiCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.850-11.050 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.550 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NiCE will post 9.85 earnings per share for the current year.

NiCE declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on NICE. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of NiCE in a research note on Friday, February 20th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of NiCE from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of NiCE in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on NiCE from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of NiCE in a report on Monday, December 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $151.83.

About NiCE

NiCE Ltd is a global software provider specializing in solutions for customer engagement, financial crime prevention, public safety, workforce optimization and border security. Its product offerings include cloud-native and on-premises platforms that leverage advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and automation to help organizations enhance customer experiences, streamline operations and ensure regulatory compliance. NiCE’s portfolio addresses the needs of contact centers, financial institutions, government agencies and enterprises across a broad range of industries.

In customer engagement, NiCE delivers tools for omnichannel interaction management, real-time and historical analytics, workforce management, and quality management.