Bank of America Corp DE Trims Stock Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 841,398 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 82,568 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.56% of Associated Banc worth $20,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 154.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Associated Banc by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew J. Harmening bought 12,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $300,157.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 319,269 shares in the company, valued at $7,423,004.25. The trade was a 4.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of Associated Banc stock opened at $24.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 30.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.93. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $18.32 and a one year high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. Associated Banc’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 106.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ASB shares. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

About Associated Banc

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.