Fisher Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 14.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 509,000 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.34% of Associated Banc worth $10,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 1st quarter worth approximately $866,000. M&G Plc grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 12.4% in the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 411,761 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,647,000 after acquiring an additional 45,542 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 221.6% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 163,003 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,511,000 after acquiring an additional 112,323 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 54.8% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,729 shares of the bank’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 12,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Interval Partners LP boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 442,947 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 95,928 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

NYSE ASB opened at $26.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $17.30 and a 1-year high of $28.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.53, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $23.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.20.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 73.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 54,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,108,254.72. The trade was a 12.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,641 shares of company stock valued at $1,435,936. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

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.