Andra AP fonden Sells 27,300 Shares of U.S. Bancorp $USB

Andra AP fonden lessened its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 310,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,300 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $16,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Main Street Group LTD bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 57.8% in the 4th quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, NFSG Corp acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB opened at $63.69 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.22. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $43.46 and a 12 month high of $64.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.96.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.07. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 18.49%.The firm had revenue of $7.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 41.52%.

Key Headlines Impacting U.S. Bancorp

Here are the key news stories impacting U.S. Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI upgraded U.S. Bancorp (USB) from in-line to outperform and set a $72 price target, pointing to meaningful upside from current levels. The Fly article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised U.S. Bancorp (USB) from underweight to neutral and increased its price target to $67.50, citing growth in fee revenue. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted U.S. Bancorp as a strong dividend stock, which may be supporting investor interest in the name. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles compared USB’s year-to-date performance with other financial stocks, suggesting the stock has been performing solidly relative to peers, but these pieces were mostly informational rather than clearly market-moving. MSN article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $61.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday. CLSA set a $67.50 price target on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised U.S. Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $1,916,661.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,847,731.84. This trade represents a 40.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Company Profile

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is a bank holding company and the parent of U.S. Bank, a national commercial bank that provides a wide range of banking, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services. The company operates through consumer and business banking, commercial banking, payment services, and wealth management segments. Its product set includes deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage origination and servicing, credit and debit card services, treasury and cash management, merchant processing, and institutional and trust services.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.