Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Sells 32,261 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC cut its stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 67.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,540 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 32,261 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 154,933 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,779,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 80,677 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,074,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 2.0% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 3.9% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19,282 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:ASB opened at $24.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 8.95, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.80. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $18.32 and a 52-week high of $29.51. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.31.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.11. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 19.31%.The firm had revenue of $393.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $382.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 34.66%.

Associated Banc announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.20.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $65,216.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 70,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,990,399.95. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 14,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.03, for a total transaction of $427,640.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,143,811.03. This trade represents a 27.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 23,656 shares of company stock valued at $677,789 over the last 90 days. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Associated Banc

Associated Banc-Corp, through its primary subsidiary Associated Bank, N.A., is a regional financial services company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The bank operates more than 200 branches across the Midwest, offering community-focused banking solutions for individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Its emphasis on personalized service and regional decision-making supports long-standing customer relationships.

On the consumer side, Associated Bank provides checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto financing and credit card products.