Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Shares Bought by Texas Permanent School Fund Corp

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 130,949 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned 0.09% of Associated Banc worth $2,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 470.2% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 1,169 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 285.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 894 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,108,254.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 23,774 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 128,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,958,353.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 54,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,108,254.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,835 shares of company stock valued at $757,214 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ASB shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.67.

Associated Banc Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of Associated Banc stock opened at $21.27 on Monday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $15.16 and a 12-month high of $24.21. 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 has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.29.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Associated Banc had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 8.14%. The company had revenue of $321.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.69 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.89%.

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.