13,806 Shares in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC acquired 13,806 shares of Associated Banc-Corp, valued at approximately $311,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the bank.
• Several brokerages have raised their price objectives for Associated Banc shares, with Wells Fargo increasing its target from $28.00 to $30.00 and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Associated Banc-Corp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, representing a yield of 3.5%, set to be paid on September 15th.

HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,806 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 1.5% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,238 shares of the bank's stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 11.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,251 shares of the bank's stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 3.3% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 18,760 shares of the bank's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 3.7% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 16,787 shares of the bank's stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Associated Banc by 3.0% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 23,554 shares of the bank's stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ASB. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.78.

Associated Banc Stock Down 2.3%

NYSE ASB opened at $26.35 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $18.32 and a 1-year high of $28.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.36 and a 200-day moving average of $23.57. The company has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.21, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.84.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $366.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.78 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 8.86%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.48%.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, EVP John A. Utz sold 13,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.24, for a total value of $354,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 111,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,029,850.72. This trade represents a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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