Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Has $1.83 Million Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 11,595.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,370 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 75,717 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned about 0.05% of Associated Banc worth $1,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 291.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,063,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,807 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank's stock worth $65,401,000 after purchasing an additional 305,133 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,082,000. State Street Corp grew 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 buying an additional 261,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the third quarter worth $3,245,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,423,934.76. The trade was a 15.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Trading Down 2.8 %

ASB stock traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.26. 1,550,044 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,313,174. 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-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $19.40 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $25.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.94.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. This is a positive change from Associated Banc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ASB shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Associated Banc from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.00.

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.