Rhumbline Advisers Purchases 15,556 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 555,194 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,556 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.33% of Associated Banc worth $13,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Associated Banc by 36.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,091 shares of the bank’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 3,485 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 255.6% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 32,868 shares of the bank’s stock worth $741,000 after buying an additional 23,626 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,720 shares of the bank’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 1,437 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,321,120 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,295,000 after buying an additional 72,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Associated Banc by 38.7% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 262,100 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,905,000 after buying an additional 73,081 shares in the last quarter. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Shares of ASB stock opened at $26.29 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.07. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $18.32 and a 52-week high of $27.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.84.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.07. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 7.23%.The company had revenue of $390.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ASB. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (up from $29.00) on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Associated Banc from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.22.

Insider Activity

In other Associated Banc news, EVP Matthew R. Braeger sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $52,680.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,346 shares in the company, valued at $351,533.64. This represents a 13.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,342 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $87,560.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,566.40. This trade represents a 7.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.