Savant Capital LLC Increases Position in Associated Banc-Corp $ASB

Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 183.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 49,448 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 32,020 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $1,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Associated Banc by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,746,951 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,608,000 after acquiring an additional 7,215 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. lifted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 1.8% during the second quarter. Burney Co. now owns 45,812 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 2,033.9% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,195 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 4.4% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 25,058 shares of the bank’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter worth about $210,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE ASB opened at $25.53 on Thursday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12-month low of $18.32 and a 12-month high of $28.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 27.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.07. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 7.23%.The firm had revenue of $386.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Associated Banc’s payout ratio is currently 102.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price (up from $29.00) on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $52,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,346 shares in the company, valued at $351,533.64. This trade represents a 13.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,342 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,472 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,566.40. This represents a 7.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,342 shares of company stock worth $494,360. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.