Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 10,912 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 69.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,705 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 10,912 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Associated Banc were worth $602,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 58,001 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,386,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Associated Banc by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,518 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Associated Banc by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,238 shares of the bank's stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its stake in Associated Banc by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 17,882 shares of the bank's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of ASB stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.58. 1,965,528 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,616,417. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $18.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.80.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.03. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $366.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.78 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Associated Banc's payout ratio is currently 106.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening bought 12,910 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased 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 directly owned 319,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,423,004.25. This trade represents a 4.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.44.

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.