Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Director John B. Williams Sells 2,830 Shares

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of ASB stock opened at $25.43 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.70. The company has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.94. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $19.76 and a 12 month high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. Sell-side analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 116.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Associated Banc

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Associated Banc by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Associated Banc by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on ASB shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

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.