Edgestream Partners L.P. Takes $6.08 Million Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 282,344 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $6,082,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 11.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,401,000 after acquiring an additional 305,133 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,137,125 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,034,000 after purchasing an additional 17,425 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 291.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,563,274 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,807 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Associated Banc by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,149,355 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $24,309,000 after buying an additional 123,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 592,472 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,762,000 after buying an additional 34,824 shares during the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Associated Banc news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 54,114 shares in the company, valued at $1,108,254.72. The trade was a 12.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David L. Stein sold 29,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $810,172.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,222,406.03. This represents a 26.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,641 shares of company stock worth $1,435,936 over the last three months. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASB has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.89.

Associated Banc Price Performance

ASB opened at $26.69 on Friday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1 year low of $17.51 and a 1 year high of $28.18. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The company had revenue of $607.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is 73.33%.

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.