Verition Fund Management LLC Acquires 305,133 Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)

Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) by 11.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,036,239 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 305,133 shares during the period. Associated Banc comprises approximately 0.3% of Verition Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 2.01% of Associated Banc worth $65,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Associated Banc during the first quarter valued at approximately $350,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the first quarter valued at $866,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 30.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,084 shares of the bank’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc raised its position in Associated Banc by 12.4% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 411,761 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,647,000 after acquiring an additional 45,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Associated Banc by 14.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 55,365 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 6,852 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Stock Performance

ASB opened at $26.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.26. Associated Banc-Corp has a 1 year low of $17.30 and a 1 year high of $28.18. The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.91.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. Associated Banc had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The company had revenue of $607.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $336.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from Associated Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.33%.

Insider Transactions at Associated Banc

In related news, Director Lith Karen Van sold 8,061 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.48, for a total transaction of $165,089.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 54,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,108,254.72. This represents a 12.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 19,044 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $460,674.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,423,934.76. This represents a 15.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,641 shares of company stock valued at $1,435,936. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Associated Banc from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Associated Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Associated Banc from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.89.

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.