162,580 Shares in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Bought by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 162,580 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,886,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. owned 0.11% of Associated Banc at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 221.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 163,003 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,511,000 after purchasing an additional 112,323 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its position in Associated Banc by 16.7% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 24,795 shares of the bank’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 3,542 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 117.6% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,697 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 23,076 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,137,125 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,034,000 after buying an additional 17,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 296,155 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,379,000 after acquiring an additional 17,699 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Associated Banc presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.11.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. This 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $22.55 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.96. Associated Banc-Corp has a twelve month low of $19.76 and a twelve month high of $28.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.46%.

Associated Banc Company 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.