Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 21,370 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 272,459 shares of the bank's stock after selling 21,370 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.18% of Associated Banc worth $6,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Associated Banc by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,871 shares of the bank's stock valued at $431,798,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444,068 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at about $353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 315.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 540,057 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,907,000 after purchasing an additional 410,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,838,422 shares of the bank's stock worth $354,638,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,441 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of Associated Banc stock traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $23.12. 1,003,319 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,541,076. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $18.32 and a 12-month high of $28.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ASB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the director now owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew J. Harmening acquired 12,910 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $300,157.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,423,004.25. This represents a 4.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Associated Banc

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.