Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 21,311 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $509,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP boosted its position in Associated Banc by 154.3% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Associated Banc by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value 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 approximately $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew J. Harmening acquired 12,910 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $7,423,004.25. The trade was a 4.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of ASB stock traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $23.52. 880,151 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,544,552. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.84. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $18.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's payout ratio is 106.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ASB shares. Truist Financial started coverage on Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.00.

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.