Patrick Edward Ahern Sells 30,489 Shares of Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) Stock

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 30,489 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.70, for a total transaction of $783,567.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $618,213.50. This represents a 55.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Patrick Edward Ahern also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, December 3rd, Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,327 shares of Associated Banc stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $85,803.33.
• On Thursday, September 11th, Patrick Edward Ahern sold 3,342 shares of Associated Banc stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $87,560.40.

Associated Banc Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of ASB stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $26.04. The company had a trading volume of 509,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,536,042. The company has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $18.32 and a 12 month high of $27.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.15.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $390.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.94 million. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 7.23%.During the same period last year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the third quarter valued at $200,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the third quarter worth about $456,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Associated Banc during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $225,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at $118,000. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASB has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.20.

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.