Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 265,378 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,849,649 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 265,378 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $92,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ASB. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in Associated Banc in the third quarter worth about $278,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 5,438 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 worth $177,282,000 after buying an additional 261,877 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $268,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 125,899 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Associated Banc news, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,678,897.35. This represents a 4.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. The trade was 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 Down 6.6 %

Shares of ASB opened at $19.25 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.78. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52 week low of $18.32 and a 52 week high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. On average, analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 116.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.67.

Associated Banc 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.