Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Buys 2,975 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 15.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,762 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 2,975 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Associated Banc by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,639,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $334,522,000 after purchasing an additional 184,813 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Associated Banc by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,835,562 shares of the bank’s stock worth $231,776,000 after acquiring an additional 229,552 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Associated Banc by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,826,597 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,461,000 after acquiring an additional 490,321 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Associated Banc by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,254,457 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,223,000 after purchasing an additional 40,111 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 50.2% in the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,181,042 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,652,000 after purchasing an additional 728,555 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $20.57 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $15.16 and a one year high of $22.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 6.86%. The company had revenue of $322.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.00 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Associated Banc’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.28%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total value of $106,553.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 37,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,591.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total transaction of $55,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,449.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total value of $106,553.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 37,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,591.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ASB shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.78.

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.