Peregrine Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Peregrine Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 340,991 shares of the bank's stock after selling 68,919 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Associated Banc worth $7,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 56,915 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 8,635 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 33,737 shares of the bank's stock valued at $722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,446 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $845,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 14,362 shares of the bank's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at about $191,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total value of $105,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 50,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,053,648.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total value of $105,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 50,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,053,648.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total value of $297,012.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 89,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,905,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,710 shares of company stock worth $454,897. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James raised their target price on Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Associated Banc in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.63.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.1 %

ASB stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $20.56. 1,028,359 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,458,133. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $14.47 and a 12-month high of $22.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.00.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 8.12%. The company had revenue of $322.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.89 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.88%.

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.