Swiss National Bank Lowers Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 294,340 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.19% of Associated Banc worth $6,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 285.2% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 907 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 1st quarter valued at about $350,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 1st quarter valued at about $609,000. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 1st quarter worth approximately $866,000. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 19.3% during the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 59,769 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 9,687 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total transaction of $45,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 99,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,269,730.86. The trade was a 1.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 58,641 shares of company stock valued at $1,481,496. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $27.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $17.30 and a 52-week high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. This is a boost from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is 76.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ASB. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.89.

About Associated Banc

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.