MetLife Investment Management LLC Acquires 25,848 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 186,042 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 25,848 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Associated Banc worth $4,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 221.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of Associated Banc stock traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.03. The company had a trading volume of 142,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,525,016. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.88. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $18.32 and a 1-year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. The company had revenue of $348.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $347.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.18%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

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.