Bank of America Corp DE Trims Stock Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 841,398 shares of the bank's stock after selling 82,568 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.56% of Associated Banc worth $20,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 8.7% during the fourth 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. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,838,422 shares of the bank's stock worth $354,638,000 after buying an additional 1,272,441 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,849,649 shares of the bank's stock worth $92,026,000 after acquiring an additional 265,378 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,248,435 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,738,000 after acquiring an additional 111,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,182,882 shares of the bank's stock worth $52,171,000 after purchasing an additional 362,267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASB traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $22.99. The stock had a trading volume of 962,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,546,913. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company's 50-day moving average price is $21.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.87. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $18.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $348.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $347.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. Associated Banc's payout ratio is currently 106.98%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the 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 owns 49,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Andrew J. Harmening purchased 12,910 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $300,157.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 319,269 shares in the company, valued at $7,423,004.25. This represents a 4.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Stephens reduced their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Associated Banc Company 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.