41,700 Shares in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Bought by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 41,700 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $892,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 0.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,744,918 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,966,000 after acquiring an additional 21,981 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Associated Banc by 5.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,214,346 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,887,000 after purchasing an additional 120,511 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Associated Banc by 92.2% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,433,301 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $24,524,000 after purchasing an additional 687,552 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Associated Banc by 13.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,433,245 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $24,523,000 after purchasing an additional 166,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in Associated Banc by 2,344.7% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 709,170 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 680,161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Associated Banc stock opened at $21.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.00. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $14.47 and a 12-month high of $22.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $322.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.89 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 8.90%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $297,012.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 89,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,905,456. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Associated Banc news, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $297,012.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 89,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,905,456. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 5,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total transaction of $105,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,053,648.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,710 shares of company stock valued at $454,897. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on ASB shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.