Rafferty Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 272,459 shares of the bank's stock after selling 21,370 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Associated Banc worth $6,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 371,448 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,002,000 after purchasing an additional 125,899 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 315.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 540,057 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,907,000 after buying an additional 410,118 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 155,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,704,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 16,182 shares of the bank's stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the period. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter worth about $64,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASB has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In related news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening purchased 12,910 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $300,157.50. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,423,004.25. The trade was a 4.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 approximately $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Associated Banc stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.89. 206,088 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,615,685. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $21.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $18.32 and a 12-month high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company 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%. Associated Banc's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors 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 yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's payout ratio is 106.98%.

Associated Banc 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.