Insider Selling: Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Director Sells 7,000 Shares of Stock

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $23.37 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.59, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $24.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.98. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $19.76 and a 12-month 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 (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ASB. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP grew its position in Associated Banc by 154.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 221.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Associated Banc by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.