Voloridge Investment Management LLC Grows Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 195.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 538,755 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 356,268 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Associated Banc worth $12,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 1,444,068 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,838,422 shares of the bank's stock worth $354,638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272,441 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,849,649 shares of the bank's stock worth $92,026,000 after purchasing an additional 265,378 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Associated Banc by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,248,435 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,738,000 after purchasing an additional 111,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Associated Banc by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,182,882 shares of the bank's stock valued at $52,171,000 after purchasing an additional 362,267 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ASB shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Associated Banc news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening purchased 12,910 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $300,157.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 319,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,423,004.25. The trade was a 4.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company'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 $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Associated Banc stock traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $23.11. 825,463 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,541,687. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.25, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.84. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $18.32 and a 52-week high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

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

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.