KBC Group NV Acquires 2,952 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 72.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,023 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,952 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter valued at $473,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 5.7% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 29,644 shares of the bank’s stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 27,082 shares of the bank’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter valued at about $238,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 43.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 28,313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 8,513 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of Associated Banc stock opened at $25.13 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.56. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $19.40 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.94.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. Analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ASB shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Associated Banc Company 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.