Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Has $400,000 Stock Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC trimmed its stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 67.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,540 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 32,261 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASB. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the third quarter valued at $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 345.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 55.5% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,074 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

NYSE:ASB opened at $24.78 on Thursday. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $18.32 and a one year high of $29.51. The company has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.31. 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $393.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $382.06 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 19.31% and a return on equity of 10.25%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. Equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.66%.

Associated Banc declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 27th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on ASB shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Associated Banc from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $65,216.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 70,959 shares in the company, valued at $1,990,399.95. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 14,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.03, for a total value of $427,640.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,401 shares in the company, valued at $1,143,811.03. The trade was a 27.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,656 shares of company stock worth $677,789 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Company 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.