Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Director Sells $71,004.70 in Stock

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Associated Banc Trading Down 1.1 %

Associated Banc stock opened at $25.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52 week low of $19.76 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.72.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ASB shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,871 shares of the bank’s stock worth $431,798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,068 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,838,422 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $354,638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272,441 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Associated Banc by 3.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $177,282,000 after acquiring an additional 261,877 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,849,649 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,026,000 after acquiring an additional 265,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 11.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,401,000 after acquiring an additional 305,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

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.