Pzena Investment Management LLC Has $42.99 Million Position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Pzena Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 26.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,798,807 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 663,044 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Associated Banc were worth $42,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ASB. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted 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. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 11.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,401,000 after purchasing an additional 305,133 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the third quarter worth approximately $6,082,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 3.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,230,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $177,282,000 after purchasing an additional 261,877 shares during the period. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Associated Banc during the third quarter worth approximately $3,245,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Associated Banc Trading Down 5.0 %

NYSE:ASB opened at $21.52 on Tuesday. Associated Banc-Corp has a 12 month low of $19.76 and a 12 month high of $28.18. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $24.58 and its 200-day moving average is $24.01.

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

Associated Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ASB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Associated Banc from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.11.

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.