Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Boosts Stock Position in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management sharply increased its stake in Associated Banc-Corp, boosting holdings by 6,574.6% in the fourth quarter to 200,237 shares valued at about $5.16 million.
• Analysts remain moderately bullish on ASB, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.30 after several firms raised targets and Barclays upgraded the stock to overweight.
• Associated Banc reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.70 EPS versus $0.69 expected, and the company also announced a $100 million share buyback plan plus a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 6,574.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 200,237 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 197,237 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 0.12% of Associated Banc worth $5,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,479 shares of the bank's stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 25,982 shares of the bank's stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,538,157 shares of the bank's stock worth $477,543,000 after buying an additional 545,185 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,999 shares of the bank's stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 6,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth $3,134,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John B. Williams sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total value of $112,720.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 67,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,899,895.60. This represents a 5.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays upgraded Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.30.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.1%

ASB opened at $28.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52 week low of $22.40 and a 52 week high of $29.51. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $26.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.64.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $387.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $384.20 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 19.88%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

About Associated Banc

Associated Banc-Corp, through its primary subsidiary Associated Bank, N.A., is a regional financial services company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The bank operates more than 200 branches across the Midwest, offering community-focused banking solutions for individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Its emphasis on personalized service and regional decision-making supports long-standing customer relationships.

On the consumer side, Associated Bank provides checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto financing and credit card products.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ASB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.