Swiss National Bank Has $7.72 Million Position in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 316,540 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $7,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the first quarter valued at approximately $311,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,146 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 2,892 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter valued at $422,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 255.6% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 32,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 23,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 1st quarter worth $744,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ASB. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Associated Banc from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, EVP Matthew R. Braeger sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $52,680.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $351,533.64. This represents a 13.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,342 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $87,560.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,086,566.40. The trade was a 7.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.1%

ASB opened at $26.29 on Friday. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $18.32 and a twelve month high of $27.46. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $25.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.07. The stock has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.07. Associated Banc had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $390.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 102.13%.

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.