Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys Shares of 14,775 Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,775 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $353,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its stake in Associated Banc by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 17,423 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,311 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,248,435 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,738,000 after buying an additional 111,310 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 38,078 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,464 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. This represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ASB shares. Raymond James cut their target price on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.11.

Associated Banc Price Performance

NYSE ASB opened at $23.09 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.00. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52 week low of $19.76 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 29.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. Research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.46%.

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.