Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 410,118 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 315.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 540,057 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 410,118 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.36% of Associated Banc worth $12,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the bank's stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,574 shares of the bank's stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 4.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 11,312 shares of the bank's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ASB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Associated Banc Trading Up 0.6 %

ASB traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.17. 2,619,205 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,106,081. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock's 50-day moving average is $25.40 and its 200 day moving average is $23.25. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $19.40 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.94.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. The business had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $336.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from Associated Banc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total transaction of $460,674.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,423,934.76. This represents a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. The trade was a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

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.