Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Invests $292,000 in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC has acquired a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp, buying 12,940 shares valued at approximately $292,000 during the first quarter.
• Several large investors, including Invesco Ltd., have significantly increased their holdings in Associated Banc, with Invesco raising its stake by 83.2% during the same period.
• Research analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Associated Banc, with Wells Fargo & Company setting a new target of $30.00, reflecting positive sentiment towards the stock.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 12,940 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASB. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 154.3% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 385.5% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,612 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,518 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,251 shares of the bank's stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Trading Up 1.0%

ASB stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.97. 1,037,426 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,338,706. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.02, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $18.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $25.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.53.

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

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Associated Banc's payout ratio is 119.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ASB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.78.

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.