Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 521,710 shares of the bank's stock after selling 31,457 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of Associated Banc worth $11,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ASB. CWM LLC grew its position in Associated Banc by 61.6% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,657 shares of the bank's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 4,824 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in Associated Banc by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 45,900 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Associated Banc by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 47,344 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its position in Associated Banc by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 23,554 shares of the bank's stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in Associated Banc by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,278 shares of the bank's stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on ASB shares. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday, April 28th. 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 research note on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Associated Banc currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.44.

Associated Banc Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of ASB traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.58. 1,965,528 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,616,417. The company has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.80. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $18.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock's 50-day moving average is $24.27 and its 200-day moving average is $23.50.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $366.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.78 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 8.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening bought 12,910 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $300,157.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 319,269 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.