Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 247,507 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 66.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 621,784 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 247,507 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.41% of Associated Banc worth $13,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth $36,376,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,356,990 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $151,864,000 after buying an additional 1,118,108 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 325.5% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 905,941 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,703,000 after buying an additional 693,010 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Associated Banc by 92.2% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,433,301 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,524,000 after acquiring an additional 687,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 2,344.7% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 709,170 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,134,000 after acquiring an additional 680,161 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 5,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total value of $105,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 50,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,053,648.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total value of $297,012.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 89,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,905,456. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total value of $105,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 50,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,053,648.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,710 shares of company stock worth $454,897. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:ASB opened at $21.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.00. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52 week low of $14.47 and a 52 week high of $22.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.81 and a 200 day moving average of $19.23.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $322.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.89 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 8.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ASB. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.13.

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.