44,327 Shares in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Purchased by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 44,327 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $955,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 82.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth $93,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter worth $140,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 30.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,084 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $26.69 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.29. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $17.51 and a 1-year high of $28.18. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 73.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ASB shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.89.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total transaction of $460,674.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at $2,423,934.76. This represents a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. The trade was a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,641 shares of company stock worth $1,435,936. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.