Heartland Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 835,979 Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 835,979 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $25,723,000. Associated Banc accounts for about 1.1% of Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Associated Banc by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 97,570 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,198,000 after buying an additional 5,531 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 90.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 287,890 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after buying an additional 136,648 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 139.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,748,667 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,927,000 after buying an additional 1,598,951 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 13.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 496,392 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,184,000 after acquiring an additional 60,758 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the second quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ASB. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. 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. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.60.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

NYSE:ASB opened at $30.86 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.47. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $23.86 and a 1-year high of $32.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.77.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $454.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $438.01 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 19.66% and a return on equity of 10.64%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.57%.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 43,561 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.04, for a total transaction of $1,395,694.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 56,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,797,155.64. This represents a 43.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.82, for a total value of $144,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 118,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,405,255.92. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 101,823 shares of company stock valued at $3,150,761 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

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.