Deutsche Bank AG Reduces Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Deutsche Bank AG trimmed its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 189,019 shares of the bank's stock after selling 46,469 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.12% of Associated Banc worth $4,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 154.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 221.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Associated Banc Price Performance

ASB opened at $24.13 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.93. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.54, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $18.32 and a twelve month high of $28.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening acquired 12,910 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ASB. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.

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