Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Shares Acquired by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 221.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,003 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 112,323 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.11% of Associated Banc worth $3,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 291.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,807 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 12.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,149,355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,309,000 after buying an additional 123,271 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 27.6% during the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 442,947 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,368,000 after buying an additional 95,928 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter worth $1,935,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 134.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 129,939 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,799,000 after acquiring an additional 74,574 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This trade represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total value of $45,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,269,730.86. This trade represents a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,641 shares of company stock valued at $1,481,496. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Trading Down 0.4 %

ASB opened at $27.20 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $23.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $17.30 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.91.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ASB shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.89.

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.