Associated Banc Corp Lowers Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Associated Banc Corp decreased its stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,529,519 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 166,747 shares during the period. Associated Banc comprises 1.8% of Associated Banc Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Associated Banc Corp owned about 1.67% of Associated Banc worth $60,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Associated Banc by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 296,740 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,092,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Associated Banc by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,165 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Associated Banc by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 37,296 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in Associated Banc by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 300,715 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,187,000 after purchasing an additional 18,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $21.96 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1 year low of $19.76 and a 1 year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 116.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.