Associated Banc Corp Sells 70,925 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Associated Banc Corp decreased its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,696,266 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 70,925 shares during the period. Associated Banc comprises approximately 1.7% of Associated Banc Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $58,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 285.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 82.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the second quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter worth $140,000. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total transaction of $45,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,637 shares in the company, valued at $2,269,730.86. This represents a 1.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,641 shares of company stock valued at $1,481,496 in the last three months. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB traded up $0.34 during trading on Monday, hitting $27.65. The company had a trading volume of 57,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,424,212. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $17.30 and a 12 month high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. This is an increase from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASB has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.89.

Associated Banc 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.