Northern Trust Corp Acquires 362,267 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,182,882 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 362,267 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.44% of Associated Banc worth $52,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ASB. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at $37,662,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $36,144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,838,422 shares of the bank's stock valued at $354,638,000 after buying an additional 1,272,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,997,553 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,742,000 after acquiring an additional 933,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Associated Banc Trading Down 0.3 %

ASB traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $23.20. 717,727 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,534,943. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock's 50-day moving average is $21.59 and its 200 day moving average is $23.89. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $18.32 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 29.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $348.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens lowered 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 report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

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.