Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Buys 15,377 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 112,441 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 15,377 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.07% of Associated Banc worth $2,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter worth $37,662,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $36,144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,871 shares of the bank's stock worth $431,798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,068 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,838,422 shares of the bank's stock valued at $354,638,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,441 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Associated Banc by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,997,553 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,742,000 after purchasing an additional 933,062 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Associated Banc Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $22.58 on Wednesday. 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 $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. The firm had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Associated Banc's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's payout ratio is 106.98%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on ASB shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.00.

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.

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