Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Director Sells $172,970.00 in Stock

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Associated Banc Price Performance

ASB traded down $0.98 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $23.25. The company had a trading volume of 382,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,365,114. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $19.76 and a twelve month high of $28.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.96. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of 29.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. Equities research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $7,831,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at $343,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the 4th quarter worth about $221,000. North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Associated Banc by 106.9% in the fourth quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 111,801 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,672,000 after buying an additional 57,757 shares during the period. Finally, GTS Securities LLC bought a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at $328,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

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.