Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB - Free Report) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,182,882 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 362,267 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.44% of Associated Banc worth $52,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ASB. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Associated Banc by 154.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,073 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Associated Banc by 221.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,499 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. 82.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shares of ASB stock opened at $22.49 on Thursday. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $18.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.79. The stock's fifty day moving average is $21.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. Associated Banc's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.98%.

In other news, Director Eileen A. Kamerick sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.71, for a total transaction of $172,970.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,223,021.45. The trade was a 12.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John B. Williams sold 2,830 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.09, for a total transaction of $71,004.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,678,897.35. This 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 company insiders.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ASB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com lowered Associated Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Associated Banc from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Associated Banc from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens decreased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.00.

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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.

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