Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Position Trimmed by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Pzena Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 26.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,798,807 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 663,044 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned 1.19% of Associated Banc worth $42,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $21.52 on Tuesday. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $19.76 and a twelve month high of $28.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.01.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. As a group, analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % 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 John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. This represents a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ASB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.11.

Associated Banc Company Profile

Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company, provides various banking and nonbanking products to individuals and businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. The company offers lending solutions, including commercial loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, letters of credit, leasing, asset based lending and equipment finance, loan syndications products, residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, personal and installment loans, auto finance and business loans, and business lines of credit.