35,372,885 Shares in U.S. Bancorp $USB Purchased by Norges Bank

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in U.S. Bancorp, buying 35.37 million shares worth about $1.89 billion and ending with 2.28% ownership.
• U.S. Bancorp’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $1.18 versus $1.14 expected and revenue of $7.32 billion, up 4.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive overall: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $61.20, while the shares recently traded around $54.87 and yield 3.8%.

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 35,372,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,887,497,000. Norges Bank owned 2.28% of U.S. Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Westfuller Advisors LLC now owns 608 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $64.00 target price on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays upped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Evercore boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $58.00 to $57.50 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.20.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:USB opened at $54.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.92. The stock has a market cap of $85.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.00. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $42.55 and a 52-week high of $61.19.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $7.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.27 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.55% and a net margin of 18.01%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $1,916,661.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,847,731.84. This represents a 40.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.00, for a total value of $2,280,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 207,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,813,307. This represents a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate 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.

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