Moody Aldrich Partners LLC Invests $1.84 Million in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC acquired a new position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 81,775 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,842,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in Associated Banc by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 58,001 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,518 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 80,294 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,919,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 1.5% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,238 shares of the bank's stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,251 shares of the bank's stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Associated Banc Trading Up 0.9%

Associated Banc stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $25.86. The company had a trading volume of 710,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,547,323. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $23.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $18.32 and a 1-year high of $28.18. The stock has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.80.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $347.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening acquired 12,910 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $300,157.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 319,269 shares in the company, valued at $7,423,004.25. This trade represents a 4.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ASB shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock 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 decreased their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Stephens dropped 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 report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.44.

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.