Cwm LLC Decreases Stock Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Cwm LLC lessened its stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 41.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,423 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,803 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,000. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 246.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 123,979 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after buying an additional 88,176 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 123,392 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,111,000 after buying an additional 8,836 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 475.8% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 69,283 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after buying an additional 57,251 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Associated Banc has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.13.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $20.29 on Monday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $15.16 and a 1-year high of $22.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.96.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 6.86%. The firm had revenue of $322.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.00 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total value of $106,553.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,591.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Nicole M. Kitowski sold 5,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total transaction of $106,553.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,591.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total value of $55,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,922 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,449.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.