150,000 Shares in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Acquired by Seven Grand Managers LLC

Seven Grand Managers LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 150,000 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $3,585,000. Associated Banc comprises about 1.6% of Seven Grand Managers LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Seven Grand Managers LLC owned 0.10% of Associated Banc at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its position in Associated Banc by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 58,001 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,518 shares of the bank's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Associated Banc by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 80,294 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,919,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its position in Associated Banc by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 17,882 shares of the bank's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Associated Banc by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the bank's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on ASB shares. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stephens cut their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com lowered Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.00.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In related news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening purchased 12,910 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $300,157.50. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,269 shares in the company, valued at $7,423,004.25. This trade represents a 4.21% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Associated Banc stock traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.29. The company had a trading volume of 329,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,537,010. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $18.32 and a 12-month high of $28.18. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $21.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's payout ratio is 106.98%.

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.