North Star Asset Management Inc. Acquires 57,757 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 106.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,801 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 57,757 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Associated Banc worth $2,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GTS Securities LLC bought a new stake in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth approximately $328,000. Harmony Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at $335,000. Castleark Management LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,816,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 435,634 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,412,000 after acquiring an additional 107,328 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 195.2% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 538,755 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,876,000 after acquiring an additional 356,268 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reduced their price objective on 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In related news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew J. Harmening bought 12,910 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $300,157.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 319,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 Trading Down 0.6%

ASB stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.15. The stock had a trading volume of 225,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,539,134. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $18.32 and a twelve month high of $28.18. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.80.

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

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.98%.

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.