Hancock Whitney Corp Acquires 216,706 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp significantly increased its stake in Associated Banc-Corp, acquiring an additional 216,706 shares, bringing its total to 274,707 shares valued at approximately $6.19 million.
• Associated Banc-Corp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, reflecting a 3.5% dividend yield, with the ex-dividend date set for September 2nd.
• Recent analyst ratings for Associated Banc have led to adjusted price targets, with Barclays and Robert W. Baird both increasing their targets to $30 and $28 respectively, while overall ratings remain at "Hold."

Hancock Whitney Corp grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 373.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 274,707 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 216,706 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp owned 0.17% of Associated Banc worth $6,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 379,996 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,561,000 after acquiring an additional 10,448 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 11.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,251 shares of the bank's stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 38.0% during 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. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,842,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 1st quarter worth about $541,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $26.23 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $25.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.59. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $18.32 and a 12-month high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.03. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 5.79%.The company had revenue of $366.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 119.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John A. Utz sold 13,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.24, for a total value of $354,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 111,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,029,850.72. The trade was a 10.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ASB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.