Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Associated Banc-Corp by 0.8%, now owning approximately 10.81% of the company, valued at approximately $403.8 million.
• Associated Banc recently reported a quarterly earnings of $0.65 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.62, with a total revenue of $366.98 million.
• The bank announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.7%, set to be paid on September 15th.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,920,673 shares of the bank's stock after selling 146,198 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.81% of Associated Banc worth $403,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,720 shares of the bank's stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 1,437 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 1st quarter valued at $232,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 29.7% in the 1st quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the bank's stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 3,897 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Associated Banc by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 32,868 shares of the bank's stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 23,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its position in Associated Banc by 92.4% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 769,546 shares of the bank's stock valued at $17,338,000 after purchasing an additional 369,546 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Stephens decreased 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.78.

Associated Banc Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:ASB traded down $0.0490 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $25.2010. 369,303 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,541,120. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $18.32 and a one year high of $28.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.46.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.03. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 5.79%.The business had revenue of $366.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.78 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Associated Banc's payout ratio is presently 119.48%.

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.