Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 22,870 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Associated Banc-Corp ($ASB) by 73.5%, owning 53,981 shares valued at approximately $1.4 million after acquiring an additional 22,870 shares.
• Associated Banc reported $0.65 earnings per share in its latest quarterly results, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.62, with revenues of $366.98 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.6%, despite a dividend payout ratio of 119.48%.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,981 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 22,870 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Associated Banc were worth $1,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ASB. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 2.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 379,996 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,561,000 after purchasing an additional 10,448 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 11.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,251 shares of the bank's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 38.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the bank's stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Associated Banc during the 1st quarter valued at $311,000. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 1st quarter valued at $1,842,000. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of ASB stock opened at $25.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.84. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $18.32 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $366.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $362.78 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is 119.48%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, EVP Matthew R. Braeger sold 2,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $52,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $351,533.64. The trade was a 13.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.24, for a total transaction of $354,120.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 111,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,029,850.72. The trade was a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,342 shares of company stock worth $494,360. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.78.

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.

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