Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Shares Acquired by Quadrant Capital Group LLC

Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,592 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $86,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,662,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,871 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $431,798,000 after buying an additional 1,444,068 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 75.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,088,796 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,022,000 after acquiring an additional 467,183 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

NYSE:ASB opened at $19.25 on Friday. 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-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $18.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.92. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.78.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. Analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.78%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 116.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ASB shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 owned by corporate insiders.

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.