Verition Fund Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB – Get Rating) by 95.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,190 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,372 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $1,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 1.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,712,813 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $403,145,000 after purchasing an additional 172,329 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 2.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,574,441 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $212,335,000 after purchasing an additional 215,603 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 18.9% in the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,742,941 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $177,906,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550,652 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 7.2% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,678,012 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,901,000 after purchasing an additional 180,542 shares during the period. Finally, Associated Banc Corp grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 0.5% in the second quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 2,630,774 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,038,000 after purchasing an additional 12,390 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 1,840 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.95, for a total transaction of $44,068.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 57,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,378,945.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 4,889 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.93, for a total transaction of $116,993.77. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,404,140.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 1,840 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.95, for a total transaction of $44,068.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 57,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,378,945.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Associated Banc Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of ASB opened at $22.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $17.45 and a 12-month high of $25.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.01.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. Associated Banc had a net margin of 25.65% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The company had revenue of $452.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $347.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 35.74%.

About Associated Banc

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Associated Banc-Corp. is a holding company, which engages in banking and non-banking financial services to individuals and businesses through its subsidiaries. It operates through the following segments: Corporate and Commercial Specialty, Community, Consumer and Business, and Risk Management and Shared Services.