Barclays PLC Buys 125,899 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 51.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 371,448 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 125,899 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.25% of Associated Banc worth $8,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Associated Banc by 82.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Associated Banc in the second quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 138.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,222 shares of the bank's stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 4,775 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ASB shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.89.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASB traded down $1.21 on Wednesday, reaching $23.89. 1,723,143 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,449,544. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $19.40 and a twelve month high of $28.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $25.05 and a 200-day moving average of $22.67. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $607.54 million for 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 prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Associated Banc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc's payout ratio is 76.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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