Point72 Asset Management L.P. Buys 386,904 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 83.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 852,400 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 386,904 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.56% of Associated Banc worth $20,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,662,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Associated Banc by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,066,871 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $431,798,000 after buying an additional 1,444,068 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,838,422 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $354,638,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,441 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 263.7% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,597,950 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158,576 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Associated Banc Trading Down 0.2%

ASB stock opened at $24.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.72, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. Associated Banc-Corp has a 52-week low of $18.32 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.93. 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 (NYSE:ASB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $348.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.86 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 8.24%. Associated Banc’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Associated Banc from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens cut their target price on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc

In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,021.45. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew J. Harmening purchased 12,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $300,157.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,423,004.25. The trade was a 4.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Associated Banc Company 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.