Sei Investments Co. Trims Stock Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Sei Investments Co. trimmed its position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 89,632 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 8,171 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $2,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ASB. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 315.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 540,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,907,000 after acquiring an additional 410,118 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 261,877 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 371,448 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,002,000 after purchasing an additional 125,899 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,248,435 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,738,000 after purchasing an additional 111,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Associated Banc by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,584,271 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $77,219,000 after buying an additional 79,658 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.11.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 transaction 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 Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Associated Banc Trading Down 3.3 %

NYSE:ASB opened at $19.36 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.02. 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-Corp has a 12-month low of $18.36 and a 12-month high of $28.18. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

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

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.