Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 410,118 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 315.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 540,057 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 410,118 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.36% of Associated Banc worth $12,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Associated Banc by 291.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,063,000 after buying an additional 1,163,807 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,401,000 after acquiring an additional 305,133 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,082,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $177,282,000 after purchasing an additional 261,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc during the third quarter worth $3,245,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Associated Banc Trading Up 0.6 %

ASB opened at $25.17 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $25.40 and its 200-day moving average is $23.25. The company has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.94. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $19.40 and a 1-year high of $28.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. The business had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,406.03. This trade represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total transaction of $460,674.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at $2,423,934.76. This represents a 15.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

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.