Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Shares Acquired by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 33.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,217 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 10,583 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $1,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Associated Banc by 315.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 540,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,907,000 after purchasing an additional 410,118 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in Associated Banc by 11.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,401,000 after acquiring an additional 305,133 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the third quarter worth $6,082,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Associated Banc by 3.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $177,282,000 after acquiring an additional 261,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the third quarter valued at $3,245,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Associated Banc has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of ASB opened at $24.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $24.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.86. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $19.76 and a twelve month high of $28.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 116.46%.

About Associated Banc

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.