1,575,821 Shares in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Acquired by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,575,821 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $37,662,000. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 1.04% of Associated Banc at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Associated Banc by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.67.

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Insider Activity

In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. This represents a 4.06 % 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 Price Performance

NYSE ASB traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.21. 1,494,740 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,491,116. 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 12-month low of $18.32 and a 12-month high of $28.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.79%. Associated Banc's payout ratio is currently 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.