Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Stock Holdings Boosted by Pinebridge Investments L.P.

Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 42.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,071 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,040 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P. owned approximately 0.06% of Associated Banc worth $2,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,871 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $431,798,000 after buying an additional 1,444,068 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Associated Banc by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,838,422 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $354,638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272,441 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,849,649 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,026,000 after acquiring an additional 265,378 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,248,435 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,738,000 after purchasing an additional 111,310 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,997,553 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,742,000 after purchasing an additional 933,062 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Associated Banc Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:ASB opened at $22.38 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.78. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $18.32 and a 1-year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The business had revenue of $348.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.46%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other news, 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 value of $172,970.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. This represents a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ASB. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens cut their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.11.

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.