Ameriprise Financial Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. cut its stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 278,662 shares of the bank's stock after selling 35,228 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.18% of Associated Banc worth $6,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at $36,144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,871 shares of the bank's stock valued at $431,798,000 after buying an additional 1,444,068 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at $353,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,838,422 shares of the bank's stock valued at $354,638,000 after buying an additional 1,272,441 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,248,435 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,738,000 after buying an additional 111,310 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASB has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 49,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew J. Harmening bought 12,910 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $300,157.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,423,004.25. The trade was a 4.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of ASB stock opened at $23.10 on Friday. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company's fifty day moving average price is $21.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.92.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The firm had revenue of $348.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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