Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Shares Acquired by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 32.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 216,046 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,043 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.14% of Associated Banc worth $5,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 16.7% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 24,795 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 3,542 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Associated Banc by 117.6% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,697 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 23,076 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 acquiring an additional 17,425 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 6.4% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 296,155 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,379,000 after purchasing an additional 17,699 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 62.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,636 shares of the bank’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 7,567 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.11.

Associated Banc Stock Up 3.1 %

ASB opened at $23.22 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $19.76 and a one year high of $28.18. The business’s fifty day moving average is $24.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.99.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. Analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.46%.

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.