Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Purchases New Position in U.S. Bancorp $USB

Key Points

• Chesley Taft & Associates purchased 19,123 shares of U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.16 million. Institutional investors collectively own 77.6% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: U.S. Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.06, with several firms recently raising targets or upgrading the stock.
• U.S. Bancorp exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.35 in EPS and $7.69 billion in revenue. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, representing a 3.3% annualized yield.

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 19,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,155,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of USB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 146,376,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,810,665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,828,404 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,701,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,755,083,000 after buying an additional 522,368 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,679,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,002,518,000 after buying an additional 443,646 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $1,887,497,000. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 5,236.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 33,350,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,779,556,000 after buying an additional 32,725,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $67.50 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised U.S. Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $60.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Evercore upgraded U.S. Bancorp from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.06.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.1%

U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $63.90 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $44.15 and a 1 year high of $65.02. The firm's 50-day moving average is $60.73 and its 200-day moving average is $57.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $99.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.96.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. U.S. Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 41.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Stephen L. Philipson sold 36,906 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.08, for a total value of $2,328,030.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 74,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,729,044.52. This represents a 32.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About U.S. Bancorp

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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