Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 37,116 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 25.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,405 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 37,116 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $2,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASB. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 19,971 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 5,438 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the third quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Associated Banc by 51.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,584,271 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,219,000 after purchasing an additional 79,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James cut their price objective on Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $19.21 on Friday. Associated Banc-Corp has a one year low of $18.32 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 firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $22.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.90.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.46%.

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.