Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Stock Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 32.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 216,046 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 53,043 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.14% of Associated Banc worth $5,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 315.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 540,057 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,907,000 after purchasing an additional 410,118 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 11.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank's stock worth $65,401,000 after buying an additional 305,133 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,082,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 3.3% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,245,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ASB. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.11.

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Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 owns 66,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $22.38. 857,059 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,469,927. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $19.76 and a one year high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.99.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc's payout ratio is 116.46%.

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.