Seven Grand Managers LLC Makes New Investment in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Seven Grand Managers LLC purchased a new stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 150,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,585,000. Associated Banc makes up 1.6% of Seven Grand Managers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Associated Banc by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 852,400 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,372,000 after acquiring an additional 386,904 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter valued at $509,000. NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at $238,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 129.4% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 990,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,673,000 after purchasing an additional 558,721 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Associated Banc by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 92,039 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,200,000 after purchasing an additional 10,077 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Price Performance

Associated Banc stock opened at $24.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $18.32 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The firm has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.92.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $348.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 106.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ASB. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other news, CEO Andrew J. Harmening purchased 12,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $300,157.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,423,004.25. The trade was a 4.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. This represents 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 owned by corporate 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.