American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

American Century Companies Inc. cut its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,878,759 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 34,676 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.25% of Associated Banc worth $39,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 470.2% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 1,169 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 285.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 23,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 128,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,958,353.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Randall J. Erickson sold 23,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 128,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,958,353.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total transaction of $45,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,269,730.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,835 shares of company stock valued at $757,214. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Associated Banc Trading Up 0.7 %

ASB opened at $21.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $21.88 and its 200-day moving average is $21.29. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $15.16 and a 52-week high of $24.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.89%.

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.