Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 1,064 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 144,521 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $3,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 3.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $177,282,000 after purchasing an additional 261,877 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 2.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,584,271 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $77,219,000 after acquiring an additional 79,658 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,401,000 after purchasing an additional 305,133 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Associated Banc by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,137,125 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,034,000 after buying an additional 17,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 291.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,807 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Associated Banc Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $24.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $19.40 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $25.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.80.

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

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,406.03. This trade represents a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total transaction of $460,674.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. This trade represents a 15.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

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.