Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 152,664 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 30.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 344,672 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 152,664 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $7,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 1st quarter worth $866,000. M&G Plc increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 12.4% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 411,761 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,647,000 after purchasing an additional 45,542 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in Associated Banc by 71.1% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 73,961 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 30,732 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the 1st quarter valued at $609,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 54.8% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,729 shares of the bank’s stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 12,296 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Associated Banc 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 value of $810,172.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,406.03. This trade represents a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.78, for a total transaction of $45,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,269,730.86. This trade represents a 1.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,641 shares of company stock worth $1,481,496. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on ASB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Ten research 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.89.

Associated Banc Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE ASB opened at $26.10 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.02 and a 200-day moving average of $22.03. 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 company has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 0.91.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The firm had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.33%.

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.