Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 400,000 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $9,560,000. Soros Fund Management LLC owned 0.26% of Associated Banc as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Associated Banc by 51.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 371,448 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,002,000 after buying an additional 125,899 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 0.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 144,521 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,192,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Associated Banc by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the bank's stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Associated Banc by 11,595.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 76,370 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 75,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 315.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 540,057 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,907,000 after acquiring an additional 410,118 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % 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 insiders.
Associated Banc Stock Up 3.5 %
Shares of Associated Banc stock traded up $0.78 on Friday, hitting $23.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,687,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,531,779. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1 year low of $18.32 and a 1 year high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.74 and a 200-day moving average of $23.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79.
Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $348.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. Associated Banc's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.
Associated Banc Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.98%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens lowered their target price on 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 lowered shares of Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Associated Banc from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.00.
Read Our Latest Report on ASB
About Associated Banc
(
Free Report)
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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