Arizona State Retirement System Cuts Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,189 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 774 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 319.6% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,140 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Associated Banc Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $19.90 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.59. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.00. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $14.47 and a twelve month high of $22.16.

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

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.42%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ASB. Raymond James raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Associated Banc in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.63.

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.