Headlands Technologies LLC Purchases 3,154 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 270.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,320 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,154 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of ASB stock opened at $19.36 on Monday. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $18.36 and a twelve month high of $28.18. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.62 and a 200 day moving average of $24.04. 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.75%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.11.

Associated Banc Company 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.