American Century Companies Inc. Increases Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Associated Banc-Corp by 12.6% in Q1, owning approximately 1.11% of the bank, valued at $41.5 million.
• Associates Banc's recent earnings report showed $0.65 earnings per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and a revenue of $366.98 million.
• The bank announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23, yielding 3.6%, with a payout ratio of 119.48%.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,841,927 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 206,259 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.11% of Associated Banc worth $41,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,321,120 shares of the bank's stock worth $52,295,000 after acquiring an additional 72,685 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,182,882 shares of the bank's stock worth $52,171,000 after acquiring an additional 362,267 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 87.7% during the 4th 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. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 263.7% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,597,950 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,158,576 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the 4th quarter worth $37,662,000. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.78.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of ASB traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $26.73. 1,173,470 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,358,767. The stock has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $25.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.51. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $18.32 and a 12 month high of $28.18.

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

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.48%.

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.