Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Shares Purchased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,849,649 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 265,378 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.55% of Associated Banc worth $92,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% during 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 period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at $64,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the bank's stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following 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. Insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of Associated Banc stock traded up $0.43 on Tuesday, hitting $19.92. 366,259 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,488,924. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $18.32 and a 1-year high of $28.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.91.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.62%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ASB. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.67.

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.