State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Reduces Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury trimmed its stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 59,132 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,668 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $1,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,662,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,871 shares of the bank’s stock worth $431,798,000 after buying an additional 1,444,068 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,838,422 shares of the bank’s stock worth $354,638,000 after buying an additional 1,272,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 87.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,997,553 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,742,000 after buying an additional 933,062 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Associated Banc Price Performance

NYSE ASB opened at $22.06 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $18.32 and a 1-year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. The firm had revenue of $348.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $347.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 106.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens cut their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

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.