Intech Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 92,496 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 19,237 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $2,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 80,262 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 17.9% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,688 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 6.2% in the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 12,103 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 1.8% during the second quarter. Burney Co. now owns 45,812 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,117,000 after buying an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Associated Banc by 77.7% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,907 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 834 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ASB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Piper Sandler raised 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on Associated Banc from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.22.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.24, for a total value of $354,120.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 111,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,029,850.72. This trade represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,342 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $87,560.40. Following the completion of 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. Insiders have sold 18,342 shares of company stock worth $494,360 over the last quarter. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Associated Banc stock opened at $24.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.84. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $18.32 and a 12-month high of $27.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $25.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.95.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $390.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 102.13%.

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.