BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Acquires Shares of 221,316 U.S. Bancorp $USB

Key Points

• BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. opened a new position in U.S. Bancorp, buying 221,316 shares valued at about $11.8 million in the fourth quarter.
• U.S. Bancorp reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.18 per share, topping estimates, with revenue of $7.32 billion and 4.7% year-over-year growth.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $61.20, even as the shares traded down 2.4% to $53.54.

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 221,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,809,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of USB. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,749,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $84,568,000 after purchasing an additional 41,803 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter worth $37,162,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 15.3% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 358,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,738,000 after acquiring an additional 47,537 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,690,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $144,462,000 after acquiring an additional 357,300 shares during the period. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter worth $893,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 17th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $64.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.20.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of USB stock opened at $53.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.01. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $42.55 and a fifty-two week high of $61.19.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 18.01% and a return on equity of 13.55%. The firm had revenue of $7.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. U.S. Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 43.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 40,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.00, for a total value of $2,280,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 207,251 shares in the company, valued at $11,813,307. The trade was a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 51,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,847,731.84. This represents a 40.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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