First Heartland Consultants Inc. Takes Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

First Heartland Consultants Inc. purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,322 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in U.S. Bancorp by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,836,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,640,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079,056 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 67,125,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,210,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211,815 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,789,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,381,443,000 after buying an additional 2,460,845 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,937,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,618,948,000 after buying an additional 850,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 19,485,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $945,268,000 after buying an additional 1,341,407 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE USB traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $43.49. 1,460,999 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,066,742. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $35.18 and a 12 month high of $53.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.74.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.06. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 14.75%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on USB shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Cowen initiated coverage on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.89.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Director Aleem Gillani bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $37.32 per share, with a total value of $186,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $559,800. The trade was a 50.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp Profile

U.S. Bancorp, a financial services holding company, provides various financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional organizations, governmental entities, and other financial institutions in the United States. It operates through Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking; Consumer and Business Banking; Payment Services; and Treasury and Corporate Support segments.