Associated Banc-Corp $ASB Shares Sold by Creative Planning

Creative Planning cut its stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 25.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,029 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 29,473 shares during the period. Creative Planning owned approximately 0.05% of Associated Banc worth $2,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 2,033.9% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,195 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in Associated Banc by 77.7% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,907 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 834 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc during the 2nd quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,688 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (up from $29.00) on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday, October 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Associated Banc from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.22.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

ASB opened at $26.42 on Wednesday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $18.32 and a 1-year high of $27.46. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $390.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.94 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 7.23%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is presently 102.13%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,342 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $87,560.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,566.40. This trade represents a 7.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 13,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.24, for a total transaction of $354,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 111,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,029,850.72. The trade was a 10.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,342 shares of company stock valued at $494,360. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

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.