Zimmer Partners LP Invests $598,000 in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 25,000 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,444,068 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth $353,000. FMR LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 1,272,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Associated Banc by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,248,435 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,738,000 after buying an additional 111,310 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of ASB traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $22.99. 962,768 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,546,913. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $21.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.87. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $18.32 and a 12-month high of $28.18. 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 company has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its 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 business had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ASB. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew J. Harmening acquired 12,910 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $300,157.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,423,004.25. This trade represents a 4.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.