Verition Fund Management LLC Grows Position in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 50.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,867,172 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 963,788 shares during the period. Associated Banc makes up approximately 0.3% of Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $73,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 984,537 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,312,000 after purchasing an additional 194,307 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Associated Banc by 7.2% during the third quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 877,828 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,569,000 after buying an additional 59,184 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 50.6% during the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 125,433 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,225,000 after buying an additional 42,133 shares during the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 2,631,339 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,783,000 after buying an additional 182,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 679.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,223,694 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,171,000 after buying an additional 1,938,393 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ASB. Truist Financial raised their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stephens raised shares of Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.30.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Associated Banc stock opened at $29.57 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1 year low of $22.48 and a 1 year high of $29.63. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.77.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $387.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $384.20 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 19.88% and a return on equity of 10.46%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, EVP Matthew R. Braeger sold 5,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.17, for a total value of $140,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $331,758.09. The trade was a 29.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Dennis Deloye sold 14,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total transaction of $404,089.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,385 shares in the company, valued at $604,340.10. This trade represents a 40.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,299 shares of company stock valued at $801,760. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

About Associated Banc

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.