Insider Selling: Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) EVP Sells 3,342 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Patrick Edward Ahern, EVP of Associated Banc-Corp, sold 3,342 shares at $26.20 each, reducing his holdings by 7.46% to 41,472 shares.
• The bank reported a quarterly EPS of $0.65, surpassing estimates, with revenues of $366.98 million, which also exceeded predictions.
• Associated Banc recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23, representing a yield of 3.5%, with a high dividend payout ratio of 119.48%.

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,342 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $87,560.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,566.40. This trade represents a 7.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Associated Banc Stock Up 3.4%

NYSE ASB traded up $0.86 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $26.50. 335,230 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,509,941. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $18.32 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.84.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.78 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Associated Banc's payout ratio is presently 119.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.78.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Associated Banc

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Associated Banc by 1.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,151,111 shares of the bank's stock valued at $101,256,000 after purchasing an additional 67,219 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 139.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,748,667 shares of the bank's stock worth $61,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598,951 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,321,120 shares of the bank's stock worth $52,295,000 after acquiring an additional 72,685 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,983,873 shares of the bank's stock worth $48,387,000 after acquiring an additional 141,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,373,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.