Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 622,743 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in Associated Banc-Corp by 28.9%, owning 1,535,763 shares worth approximately $34.6 million after selling 622,743 shares.
• Versant Capital Management Inc increased its investment by 385.5%, acquiring a total of 1,612 shares valued at $36,000, alongside various other hedge fund movements increasing their stakes in the company.
• Associated Banc-Corp reported a quarterly EPS of $0.65, exceeding expectations of $0.62, and announced a dividend of $0.23 per share, with a yield of 3.5%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 28.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,535,763 shares of the bank's stock after selling 622,743 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.93% of Associated Banc worth $34,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ASB. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Associated Banc by 385.5% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,612 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 77.7% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,907 shares of the bank's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,688 shares of the bank's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the bank's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,251 shares of the bank's stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Trading Down 0.5%

ASB traded down $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.28. 1,592,683 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,181,491. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $18.32 and a one year high of $28.18. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.66.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 8.86%. The firm had revenue of $366.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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, September 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is currently 119.48%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 111,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,029,850.72. This represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Matthew R. Braeger sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $52,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $351,533.64. This represents a 13.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,342 shares of company stock valued at $494,360. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Piper Sandler upped 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 upped 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.78.

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.