Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Acquires 75,717 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 11,595.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,370 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 75,717 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Associated Banc worth $1,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ASB. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 221.6% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 163,003 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,511,000 after buying an additional 112,323 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Associated Banc by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $177,282,000 after acquiring an additional 261,877 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Associated Banc by 114.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 96,752 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,084,000 after purchasing an additional 51,672 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 117.6% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 23,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,401,000 after purchasing an additional 305,133 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ASB. StockNews.com upgraded Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

Associated Banc Price Performance

NYSE:ASB opened at $23.26 on Friday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $19.40 and a 12-month high of $28.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $25.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 8.15%. The business had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is an increase from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is presently 76.67%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In related news, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total transaction of $460,674.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares in the company, valued at $2,423,934.76. This represents a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company 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.