1,512,322 Shares in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,512,322 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $36,144,000. Norges Bank owned 1.00% of Associated Banc as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Associated Banc by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,871 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $431,798,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444,068 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 3.3% in the third 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,584,271 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,219,000 after purchasing an additional 79,658 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 111,310 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Associated Banc by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,761,584 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,102,000 after buying an additional 31,956 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Raymond James decreased their price target on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.11.

Associated Banc Trading Down 3.3 %

NYSE:ASB opened at $19.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $18.36 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.75%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.