Wellington Management Group LLP Invests $37.66 Million in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,575,821 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $37,662,000. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 1.04% of Associated Banc at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ASB. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Associated Banc by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 20,860 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,144,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 75.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,088,796 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,022,000 after acquiring an additional 467,183 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth $264,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in Associated Banc by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 427,645 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,221,000 after purchasing an additional 87,651 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In other Associated Banc news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now 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. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Associated Banc presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.11.

Associated Banc Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of ASB stock opened at $19.36 on Monday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1 year low of $18.36 and a 1 year high of $28.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.04. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis 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.