Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Purchases 1,158,576 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 263.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,597,950 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 1,158,576 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 1.06% of Associated Banc worth $38,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 154.3% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 221.0% during 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. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. This represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASB traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $23.20. 717,727 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,534,943. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.59 and a 200-day moving average of $23.89. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $18.32 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. The company had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ASB shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stephens reduced their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.00.

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.