South Dakota Investment Council Has $5.13 Million Stock Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

South Dakota Investment Council cut its stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 239,753 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 40,225 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council owned 0.16% of Associated Banc worth $5,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Associated Banc by 13,055.0% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 13,155 shares of the bank’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 13,055 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth approximately $84,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in Associated Banc by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 80,363 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 18,527 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its position in Associated Banc by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 302,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,461,000 after acquiring an additional 5,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Associated Banc by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 24,526 shares of the bank’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ASB shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $21.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.63.

Associated Banc Price Performance

NYSE:ASB traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,367,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,420,457. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $14.47 and a 12 month high of $22.16.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $322.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.89 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 8.90%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.88%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total value of $105,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 50,126 shares in the company, valued at $1,053,648.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total value of $105,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 50,126 shares in the company, valued at $1,053,648.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 14,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $297,012.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 89,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,905,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,710 shares of company stock valued at $454,897 over the last three months. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.