Associated Banc-Corp $ASB Shares Sold by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Pzena Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,949,305 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 40,938 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.03% of Associated Banc worth $55,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the second quarter worth about $715,927,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 127.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,971,227 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $154,416,000 after acquiring an additional 3,347,699 shares in the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,673,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,948,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,702,000. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Associated Banc from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Patrick Ahern sold 1,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.85, for a total transaction of $40,382.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,471.55. This trade represents a 2.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory Warsek sold 16,300 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.01, for a total value of $521,763.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $442,026.09. This represents a 54.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 61,170 shares of company stock worth $1,957,840 in the last quarter. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Associated Banc Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of ASB stock opened at $31.39 on Thursday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $23.87 and a 12-month high of $32.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.70 and a 200-day moving average of $28.73. The company has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.80.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $468.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $463.69 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.75% and a net margin of 19.87%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 34.60%.

Associated Banc Company Profile

Associated Banc-Corp is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Through its principal subsidiary, Associated Bank, it provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

Associated Bank offers commercial and corporate banking, retail banking, mortgage lending, consumer lending, treasury management, investment and wealth management, and institutional services. Its business banking activities include lending, deposit accounts, cash-management solutions and other services designed for small and middle-market companies.

The company primarily serves customers across Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota through its branch network and digital banking channels.