14,336 Shares in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Bought by Heck Capital Advisors LLC

Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 14,336 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $343,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ASB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,444,068 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,838,422 shares of the bank's stock worth $354,638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272,441 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Associated Banc by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,849,649 shares of the bank's stock valued at $92,026,000 after purchasing an additional 265,378 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Associated Banc by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,248,435 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,738,000 after buying an additional 111,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Associated Banc by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,182,882 shares of the bank's stock valued at $52,171,000 after purchasing an additional 362,267 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Associated Banc Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE ASB traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.11. 825,463 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,545,256. 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 capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.25, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company's 50-day moving average is $21.99 and its 200-day moving average is $23.83. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $18.32 and a 52-week high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $348.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. Associated Banc's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. 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 paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ASB. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. 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 reduced their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 49,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew J. Harmening purchased 12,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 $7,423,004.25. This trade represents a 4.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.