Insider Selling: Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) EVP Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) EVP John Utz sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.82, for a total value of $144,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 118,156 shares in the company, valued at $3,405,255.92. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Associated Banc Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ASB traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $28.56. The company had a trading volume of 366,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,225,605. The firm has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $22.48 and a 52-week high of $29.51.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $387.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $384.20 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 19.88%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASB. IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 4,250.0% in the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 345.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ASB. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Associated Banc from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research cut Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Barclays raised Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $30.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.30.

About Associated Banc

Associated Banc-Corp, through its primary subsidiary Associated Bank, N.A., is a regional financial services company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The bank operates more than 200 branches across the Midwest, offering community-focused banking solutions for individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Its emphasis on personalized service and regional decision-making supports long-standing customer relationships.

On the consumer side, Associated Bank provides checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto financing and credit card products.