Renaissance Technologies LLC Trims Stock Position in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 66.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 163,632 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 320,999 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Associated Banc worth $4,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ASB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,538,157 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $477,543,000 after buying an additional 545,185 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Associated Banc by 1.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,811,228 shares of the bank’s stock worth $253,709,000 after buying an additional 170,080 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Associated Banc by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,711,346 shares of the bank’s stock worth $224,404,000 after buying an additional 147,372 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 127.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,971,227 shares of the bank’s stock worth $154,416,000 after acquiring an additional 3,347,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,663,163 shares of the bank’s stock worth $94,363,000 after acquiring an additional 38,900 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ASB. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Associated Banc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.10.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $31.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.14. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52 week low of $23.66 and a 52 week high of $32.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.64% and a net margin of 19.66%.The firm had revenue of $454.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $438.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.91 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In related news, EVP Derek S. Meyer sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.74, for a total value of $307,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 61,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,895,489.88. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dennis Deloye sold 14,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total transaction of $404,089.74. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $604,340.10. This trade represents a 40.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,962 shares of company stock worth $1,233,303. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Associated Banc Profile

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.