Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 7,080 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 38.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,254 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 7,080 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 221.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Associated Banc by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $23.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $21.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.88. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $18.32 and a one year high of $28.18.

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

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 106.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.