Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,410 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,871 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $431,798,000 after buying an additional 1,444,068 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter worth $353,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 11,595.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 76,370 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 75,717 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 315.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 540,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,907,000 after purchasing an additional 410,118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Associated Banc stock opened at $19.36 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.04. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $18.36 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 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%. Analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ASB shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. This represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Associated Banc

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.