Fisher Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 14.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 509,000 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.34% of Associated Banc worth $10,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 61,713 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 4,370 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 62.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,636 shares of the bank's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 7,567 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Associated Banc by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 296,155 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,379,000 after purchasing an additional 17,699 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Associated Banc by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,137,125 shares of the bank's stock worth $46,034,000 after purchasing an additional 17,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 117.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,697 shares of the bank's stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 23,076 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays upped their target price on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Associated Banc from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $23.89.

Associated Banc Price Performance

NYSE ASB traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $26.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,240,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,438,925. The firm's 50 day moving average is $23.72 and its 200 day moving average is $22.23. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $17.30 and a twelve month high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.91.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Associated Banc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total value of $165,089.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,108,254.72. This trade represents a 12.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,423,934.76. This trade represents a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,641 shares of company stock valued at $1,435,936 in the last three months. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.