Patrick Edward Ahern Sells 3,327 Shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Stock

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,327 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $85,803.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 41,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,238.52. The trade was a 7.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Patrick Edward Ahern also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, September 11th, Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,342 shares of Associated Banc stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $87,560.40.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of ASB traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $25.87. 1,544,131 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,532,239. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $18.32 and a twelve month high of $27.46. The company has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.07. Associated Banc had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $390.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ASB shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.20.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the third quarter worth $456,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the third quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Associated Banc during the third quarter worth $118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

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.