Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 315.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 540,057 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 410,118 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $12,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 4.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 11,312 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,461 shares of the bank’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Associated Banc by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 27,082 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 50,680 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. This represents a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE ASB opened at $25.17 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $25.40 and its 200 day moving average is $23.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1 year low of $19.40 and a 1 year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 76.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ASB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

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.