Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Shares Sold by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 7.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 919,125 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 69,017 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.61% of Associated Banc worth $18,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ASB. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 1.2% in 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. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 728,555 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 1st quarter worth $866,000. Mairs & Power Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 399,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,541,000 after acquiring an additional 48,432 shares during the period. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 71.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 30,732 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ASB. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on Associated Banc from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Baird R W cut Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.78.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 23,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total transaction of $546,564.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 128,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,958,353.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Associated Banc news, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 23,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total transaction of $546,564.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 128,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,958,353.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 54,114 shares in the company, valued at $1,108,254.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 33,835 shares of company stock worth $757,214. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

ASB opened at $21.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $21.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.34. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $15.16 and a 12-month high of $24.21.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Associated Banc had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 8.14%. The business had revenue of $321.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

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.