Associated Banc Corp Sells 70,925 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Associated Banc Corp reduced its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,696,266 shares of the bank's stock after selling 70,925 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc makes up about 1.7% of Associated Banc Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Associated Banc Corp owned approximately 1.78% of Associated Banc worth $58,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 291.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,063,000 after buying an additional 1,163,807 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Associated Banc by 12.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,149,355 shares of the bank's stock valued at $24,309,000 after purchasing an additional 123,271 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 221.6% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 163,003 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,511,000 after acquiring an additional 112,323 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 27.6% during the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 442,947 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,368,000 after buying an additional 95,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the third quarter valued at about $1,935,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $810,172.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. The trade was a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total transaction of $45,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,269,730.86. The trade was a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,641 shares of company stock worth $1,481,496. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Associated Banc stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $27.20. 3,159,738 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,436,008. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.91. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $17.30 and a 1-year high of $28.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is an increase from Associated Banc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ASB. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their price target on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Associated Banc currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $23.89.

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.