Quantbot Technologies LP Sells 9,584 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its position in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,743 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,584 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the fourth quarter worth about $353,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Associated Banc by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $177,282,000 after acquiring an additional 261,877 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 11,595.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 76,370 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 75,717 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 315.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 540,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,907,000 after purchasing an additional 410,118 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,248,435 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,738,000 after purchasing an additional 111,310 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.11.

Associated Banc Trading Down 1.0 %

ASB opened at $22.88 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1-year low of $19.76 and a 1-year high of $28.18.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 5.15%. Analysts predict that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.46%.

Insider Activity at Associated Banc

In related news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total value of $172,970.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,223,021.45. This represents a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total value of $71,004.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 66,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. This trade represents a 4.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.