State of Alaska Department of Revenue Lowers Stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,050 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,070 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Associated Banc by 319.6% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,140 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 1st quarter valued at about $91,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total value of $297,012.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 89,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,905,456. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total value of $297,012.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 89,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,905,456. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $52,785.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,229,225.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,710 shares of company stock valued at $454,897. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ASB. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.63.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $20.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $14.47 and a 1-year high of $22.16. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.53.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The business had revenue of $322.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.89 million. Research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.88%.

Associated Banc 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.