Morningstar Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in U.S. Bancorp $USB

Key Points

• Morningstar Investment Management increased its U.S. Bancorp stake by 25.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 20,746 additional shares and bringing its total to 101,269 shares worth about $5.4 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted holdings, and hedge funds now own a significant majority of the stock; institutional ownership stands at 77.6%.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on U.S. Bancorp, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $61.20, while the company also beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and pays a quarterly dividend yielding about 3.8%.

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,746 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC's holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $5,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Genus Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,804,000. First National Trust Co increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 195,036 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,407,000 after purchasing an additional 40,063 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 736,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,289,000 after purchasing an additional 22,585 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 127,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,782,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 289.3% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 169,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,069,000 after purchasing an additional 126,298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on USB shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised U.S. Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.20.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB opened at $54.85 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $54.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.69. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $42.21 and a one year high of $61.19. 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 cap of $85.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.00.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 207,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,813,307. The trade was a 16.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $1,916,661.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,847,731.84. This trade represents a 40.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp 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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