Barclays PLC Buys 87,972 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 23.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 459,420 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 87,972 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.30% of Associated Banc worth $10,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 0.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 144,521 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,192,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the bank's stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 11,595.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 76,370 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 75,717 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted 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 valued at $12,907,000 after acquiring an additional 410,118 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Associated Banc by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 155,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,704,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.40. The stock had a trading volume of 2,557,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,532,503. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $18.32 and a twelve month high of $28.18.

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

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 116.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on ASB shares. Raymond James lowered their target price on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens lowered their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.