Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 545,185 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,538,157 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 545,185 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Associated Banc worth $477,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 345.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc during the third quarter worth $34,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Associated Banc during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Stephens upgraded shares of Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.30.

Associated Banc Price Performance

NYSE:ASB opened at $28.39 on Wednesday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52 week low of $22.40 and a 52 week high of $29.51. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a net margin of 19.88% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm had revenue of $387.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $384.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

Associated Banc announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 27th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 6,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total transaction of $184,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 49,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,380,377.28. This represents a 11.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total value of $112,720.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 67,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,899,895.60. This trade represents a 5.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 25,331 shares of company stock valued at $725,293 over the last 90 days. 0.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Associated Banc Company Profile

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.