Fmr LLC Increases Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Fmr LLC increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 0.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,565,981 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,057 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned approximately 8.97% of Associated Banc worth $292,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 82.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter worth $93,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth $140,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Associated Banc by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,084 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $26.69 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.91. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $17.51 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total value of $165,089.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares in the company, valued at $1,108,254.72. The trade was a 12.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,641 shares of company stock valued at $1,435,936 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ASB shares. StockNews.com raised Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.89.

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.