Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 344,672 shares of the bank's stock after selling 152,664 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Associated Banc worth $7,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&G PLC boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 423,903 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,326,000 after purchasing an additional 12,142 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 82.1% during the 3rd 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 period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 17,220 shares of the bank's stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,461 shares of the bank's stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 134.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 129,939 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,799,000 after acquiring an additional 74,574 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of Associated Banc stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $26.17. 694,524 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,417,801. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.03. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $17.30 and a 12-month high of $28.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 0.91. 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 (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from Associated Banc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Associated Banc's payout ratio is presently 73.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ASB. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the business'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 sale, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,108,254.72. The trade was a 12.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total value of $45,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,269,730.86. The trade was a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,641 shares of company stock worth $1,481,496. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Associated Banc

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.