Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 239,753 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 40,225 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $5,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 90,428 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,547,000 after buying an additional 35,279 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 170,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,909,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 35,226 shares of the bank’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 3,451 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 30,284 shares of the bank’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,947 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 74,227 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 9,363 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Associated Banc in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $52,785.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 62,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,225.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $52,785.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 62,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,225.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $297,012.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 89,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,905,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,710 shares of company stock valued at $454,897 in the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Associated Banc Price Performance

ASB traded up $0.12 on Wednesday, hitting $21.39. 1,367,065 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,420,457. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $14.47 and a fifty-two week high of $22.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.69. The stock has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The company had revenue of $322.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.89 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.88%.

About Associated Banc

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.