Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 633,945 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 23,276 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.42% of Associated Banc worth $10,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASB. First Command Bank acquired a new position in Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 319.6% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,140 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the first quarter valued at $91,000. 80.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Associated Banc in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird raised Associated Banc from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $19.00 to $24.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $18.00 to $18.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Associated Banc has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.56.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $18.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $14.47 and a 52-week high of $24.82.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 19th. The bank reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. The company had revenue of $575.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.83 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.87%. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.92%.

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 operates through three segments: Corporate and Commercial Specialty; Community, Consumer, and Business; and Risk Management and Shared Services.