First Trust Advisors LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB – Get Rating) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 361,756 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 82,891 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.24% of Associated Banc worth $8,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 62.2% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 15,246 shares of the bank’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 5,846 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,451 shares of the bank’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 884 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Associated Banc in the 1st quarter valued at $91,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Associated Banc in the 1st quarter valued at $262,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 54,829 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,248,000 after buying an additional 5,073 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ASB shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Wednesday, March 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued 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 $22.29.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $15.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.98. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $14.47 and a 52-week high of $25.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $16.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.94.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The bank reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. Associated Banc had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The firm had revenue of $504.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.42%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 33.07%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening acquired 4,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.57 per share, for a total transaction of $99,764.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 287,394 shares in the company, valued at $5,911,694.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Associated Banc news, Director R Jay Gerken purchased 3,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.07 per share, with a total value of $48,210.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 42,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $675,518.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Andrew J. Harmening acquired 4,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.57 per share, for a total transaction of $99,764.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 287,394 shares in the company, valued at $5,911,694.58. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 13,600 shares of company stock worth $247,737 in the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Associated Banc Profile

(Get Rating)

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.