Insider Selling: Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) EVP Sells 29,536 Shares of Stock

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of ASB stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.75. The company had a trading volume of 475,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,355,955. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $16.59 and a 12 month high of $28.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $22.24 and its 200 day moving average is $21.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.91.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. The business had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. This is a boost from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASB. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the 1st quarter worth about $866,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 71.1% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 73,961 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 30,732 shares during the period. M&G Plc grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 12.4% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 411,761 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,647,000 after purchasing an additional 45,542 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the first quarter worth approximately $609,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Associated Banc in the first quarter valued at approximately $523,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASB has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.89.

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.