Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 39,305 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 553,167 shares of the bank's stock after selling 39,305 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.37% of Associated Banc worth $13,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ASB. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.11.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,678,897.35. This represents a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Trading Up 3.4 %

NYSE ASB traded up $0.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.96. 1,254,850 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,377,407. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $24.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $19.76 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. Analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.46%.

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.