Comerica Bank Acquires 1,415 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,607 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,415 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $1,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at $9,560,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Associated Banc by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,182,882 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,171,000 after purchasing an additional 362,267 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Associated Banc by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 173,712 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,152,000 after purchasing an additional 4,764 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in Associated Banc by 154.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $311,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating 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. Stephens reduced their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Associated Banc currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

Shares of Associated Banc stock opened at $24.39 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $18.32 and a fifty-two week 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.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. The company had revenue of $348.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $347.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Associated Banc’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening purchased 12,910 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $300,157.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 319,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,423,004.25. This represents a 4.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, 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 insiders.

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.