Insider Selling: Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) EVP Sells 19,044 Shares of Stock

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,423,934.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Associated Banc Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ASB opened at $23.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $16.19 and a 1-year high of $24.31. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.55.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. The company had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is 73.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ASB. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.89.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASB. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 43.3% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,050,813 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $87,133,000 after buying an additional 1,224,216 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 291.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,063,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,807 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the 1st quarter worth $8,057,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 12.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,149,355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,309,000 after purchasing an additional 123,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Interval Partners LP grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 27.6% in the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 442,947 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 95,928 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.