An excellent week for Associated Banc-Corp's (NYSE:ASB) institutional owners who own 88% as one-year returns inch higher

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Associated Banc-Corp's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• A total of 8 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership
• Recent sales by insiders

Our free stock report includes 1 warning sign investors should be aware of before investing in Associated Banc-Corp. Read for free now.

If you want to know who really controls Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 88% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained US$126m in market cap last week. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 9.0%.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Associated Banc-Corp.

See our latest analysis for Associated Banc-Corp

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Associated Banc-Corp?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Associated Banc-Corp. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Associated Banc-Corp, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Associated Banc-Corp. BlackRock, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 13% of shares outstanding. With 11% and 9.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, The Vanguard Group, Inc. and FMR LLC are the second and third largest shareholders.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 8 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Associated Banc-Corp

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our information suggests that Associated Banc-Corp insiders own under 1% of the company. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own US$29m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 11% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Associated Banc-Corp. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Associated Banc-Corp , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.