Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Shares Purchased by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,165 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Associated Banc by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 37,296 shares of the bank’s stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 300,715 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,187,000 after buying an additional 18,371 shares during the period. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $1,489,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $353,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Associated Banc Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Associated Banc stock opened at $22.43 on Wednesday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $19.76 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.28 and a 200 day moving average of $23.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 116.46%.

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.