KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 30,000 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $717,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the third quarter worth $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Trading Down 3.3 %

ASB stock traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,877,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,474,327. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $23.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.04. 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 $18.36 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90.

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Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc's payout ratio is currently 116.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Associated Banc news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ASB. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.