M&T Bank Corp Acquires Shares of 19,607 Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 19,607 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $442,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP increased its position in Associated Banc by 154.3% in 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 period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 221.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 385.5% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,612 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,280 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,518 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the bank’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $25.39 on Thursday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52 week low of $18.32 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 29.52, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.42.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Associated Banc had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 8.47%. The firm had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $347.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is 106.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening acquired 12,910 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $300,157.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 319,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,423,004.25. The trade was a 4.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ASB. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.22.

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.