33,211 Shares in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Bought by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 33,211 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $794,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 221.6% in the 3rd 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 period. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 16.7% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 24,795 shares of the bank's stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 3,542 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 117.6% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,697 shares of the bank's stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 23,076 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,137,125 shares of the bank's stock valued at $46,034,000 after buying an additional 17,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 296,155 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,379,000 after buying an additional 17,699 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company's stock.

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Associated Banc Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:ASB traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $22.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 900,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,390,651. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.17 and a 200-day moving average of $24.00. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $19.76 and a 52-week high of $28.18.

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

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is presently 116.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

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.