Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $540,000 Investment in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,544 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $540,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,538,157 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $477,543,000 after purchasing an additional 545,185 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,811,228 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $253,709,000 after buying an additional 170,080 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Associated Banc by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,711,346 shares of the bank’s stock worth $224,404,000 after acquiring an additional 147,372 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 127.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,971,227 shares of the bank’s stock worth $154,416,000 after purchasing an additional 3,347,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,663,163 shares of the bank’s stock worth $94,363,000 after purchasing an additional 38,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $30.82 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $30.74 and its 200-day moving average is $28.43. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $23.86 and a 52-week high of $32.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.64% and a net margin of 19.66%.The business had revenue of $454.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $438.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 33.57%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP Derek S. Meyer sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.74, for a total transaction of $307,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 61,662 shares in the company, valued at $1,895,489.88. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 43,561 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.04, for a total value of $1,395,694.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 56,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,797,155.64. This represents a 43.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 101,823 shares of company stock valued at $3,150,761. 0.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ASB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Associated Banc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.60.

Associated Banc 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.