AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 206,699 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 24.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 642,871 shares of the bank's stock after selling 206,699 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.43% of Associated Banc worth $15,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,662,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter worth about $36,144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,871 shares of the bank's stock worth $431,798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,068 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,838,422 shares of the bank's stock worth $354,638,000 after buying an additional 1,272,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Associated Banc by 87.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,997,553 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,742,000 after acquiring an additional 933,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,678,897.35. This represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Associated Banc Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ASB traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $23.20. The stock had a trading volume of 717,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,531,979. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $18.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's payout ratio is 106.98%.

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.