GAMMA Investing LLC Has $26.65 Million Stock Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 2,415.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 118,305 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 113,601 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Associated Banc worth $26,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ASB. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,662,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,871 shares of the bank's stock valued at $431,798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,068 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,838,422 shares of the bank's stock valued at $354,638,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,441 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 263.7% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,597,950 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158,576 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of Associated Banc stock traded down $0.22 on Thursday, reaching $22.90. 700,807 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,543,553. The firm's 50 day moving average is $22.03 and its 200-day moving average is $23.67. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $18.32 and a one year high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 28.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is 106.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening acquired 12,910 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $300,157.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,269 shares in the company, valued at $7,423,004.25. This trade represents a 4.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ASB. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.00.

About Associated Banc

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.