Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 14,775 Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 14,775 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $353,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Associated Banc by 82.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,438 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Trading Down 5.0 %

NYSE:ASB opened at $21.52 on Tuesday. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $19.76 and a one year high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ASB. StockNews.com cut shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Associated Banc presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.11.

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.