Swiss National Bank Grows Holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 296,740 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Associated Banc worth $7,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted 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 buying an additional 261,877 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Associated Banc by 2.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,584,271 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,219,000 after purchasing an additional 79,658 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,401,000 after purchasing an additional 305,133 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Associated Banc by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,248,435 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,738,000 after purchasing an additional 111,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,761,584 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,102,000 after buying an additional 31,956 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of ASB stock opened at $22.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.96. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $19.76 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its earnings results 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 forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 4.08%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ASB shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com cut Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.11.

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 on 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 directly owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of Associated Banc 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 owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. The trade was a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc 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.