Associated Banc-Corp $ASB Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,992,972 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 115,032 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.84% of Associated Banc worth $462,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 1.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,151,111 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,256,000 after buying an additional 67,219 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Associated Banc by 139.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,748,667 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598,951 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 7.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,983,873 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,387,000 after purchasing an additional 141,946 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the second quarter worth $48,373,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,746,951 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,608,000 after purchasing an additional 7,215 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ASB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 6,600 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total transaction of $184,932.00. Following the sale, the director owned 49,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,380,377.28. The trade was a 11.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $65,216.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 70,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,990,399.95. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 59,607 shares of company stock valued at $1,603,545 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Associated Banc stock opened at $27.60 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.81. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $18.32 and a 12 month high of $29.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $393.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $382.06 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 19.31% and a return on equity of 10.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 34.66%.

Associated Banc announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Associated Banc Profile

Associated Banc-Corp, through its primary subsidiary Associated Bank, N.A., is a regional financial services company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The bank operates more than 200 branches across the Midwest, offering community-focused banking solutions for individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Its emphasis on personalized service and regional decision-making supports long-standing customer relationships.

On the consumer side, Associated Bank provides checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto financing and credit card products.