Paul Gregory Schmidt, Executive Vice President of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB), recently sold a significant portion of his holdings in the company. According to the latest SEC filing, Schmidt sold 27,432 shares of common stock on November 6, 2024. The shares were sold at a weighted average price of approximately $226.96 per share, resulting in total proceeds of about $6.2 million.
In a related transaction, Schmidt exercised 22,432 stock options at a price of $17.38 per share. This move brought his total shares owned following the transactions to 44,895.
These transactions are part of routine financial activities that executives may undertake, and they provide insights into the personal financial strategies of company leaders. Investors often monitor such insider transactions to gauge the confidence of company executives in the stock's future performance.
In other recent news, Associated Banc-Corp has announced a rise in its quarterly cash dividend from $0.22 to $0.23 per common share. This development follows the company's solid performance in its third-quarter earnings for 2024, reporting a diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.56 and an increase in core customer deposits by 2%. Additionally, a 1% rise in total loans was observed, mainly in the commercial and auto sectors, and a $6 million increase in net interest income (NII) to $253 million.
Associated Banc-Corp has also been expanding its team, adding 16 commercial relationship managers since September 2023, with plans to add 26 more by early 2025. The company anticipates cumulative commercial loan growth of $750 million and deposit growth of $2.5 billion by the end of 2025.
In line with these developments, Associated Banc-Corp has launched a new specialty deposit and payment solutions vertical, focusing on select short-term credits in the commercial real estate sector. The company also expects modest cash flow growth in its securities portfolio and anticipates positive operating leverage for 2025, contingent on rate cuts and overall revenue growth. These recent developments reflect Associated Banc-Corp's strategic planning and resilience amid economic challenges.
InvestingPro Insights
To provide additional context to Paul Gregory Schmidt's recent stock transactions at Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB), it's worth examining some key financial metrics and insights from InvestingPro.
According to InvestingPro data, Associated Banc-Corp has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion and a P/E ratio of 22.16. The company's revenue for the last twelve months as of Q3 2024 stood at $1.01 billion, with an operating income margin of 25.89%.
One notable InvestingPro Tip highlights that Associated Banc-Corp has maintained dividend payments for 50 consecutive years, demonstrating a strong commitment to shareholder returns. This long-standing dividend history aligns with the company's current dividend yield of 3.43%, which may be attractive to income-focused investors.
Another relevant InvestingPro Tip indicates that the company has shown a significant return over the last week, with a 14.01% price total return. This recent positive performance extends to longer timeframes, with a 27.18% return over the last month and a 32.68% return over the last three months. These strong returns could potentially explain why an executive like Schmidt might choose to sell some shares, possibly to realize gains.
It's worth noting that InvestingPro offers 8 additional tips for Associated Banc-Corp, providing investors with a more comprehensive analysis of the company's financial health and market position.
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