Bank of New York Mellon Corp Buys 7,215 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,746,951 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,215 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $42,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 139.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,748,667 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,951 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 3.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,321,120 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,295,000 after buying an additional 72,685 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 200.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,930,329 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287,458 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 4.0% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,859,542 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,354,000 after acquiring an additional 71,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,841,927 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,499,000 after acquiring an additional 206,259 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of ASB opened at $25.53 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $25.68 and its 200 day moving average is $24.87. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $18.32 and a 12-month high of $28.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.84.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 $386.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 102.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ASB. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 13,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.24, for a total transaction of $354,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 111,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,029,850.72. The trade was a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,342 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $87,560.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 41,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,086,566.40. This trade represents a 7.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,342 shares of company stock worth $494,360. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc 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.