Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 152,664 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 344,672 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 152,664 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Associated Banc worth $7,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 285.2% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 82.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth $93,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $140,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.89.

Associated Banc Trading Down 1.7 %

ASB opened at $26.10 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.02 and a 200-day moving average of $22.03. The stock has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52 week low of $17.30 and a 52 week high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is 73.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,406.03. The trade was a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total value of $45,560.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,269,730.86. This represents a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,641 shares of company stock valued at $1,481,496. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.