Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $954,000 Stock Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 57.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,362 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 15,400 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Associated Banc were worth $954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,444,068 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 9.4% during the 4th 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 boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,849,649 shares of the bank's stock valued at $92,026,000 after buying an additional 265,378 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 362,267 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Associated Banc currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.00.

Associated Banc Trading Down 1.5%

Associated Banc stock traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $22.61. 953,258 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,543,979. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $18.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18. The firm's 50 day moving average is $22.49 and its 200-day moving average is $23.47.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Associated Banc had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 8.47%. The business had revenue of $348.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Associated Banc's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.98%.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening bought 12,910 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 319,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,423,004.25. This represents a 4.21% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.