North Dakota State Investment Board Purchases New Shares in U.S. Bancorp $USB

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board initiated a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter, buying 53,569 shares valued at about $2.86 million.
• Several analysts recently updated their views on USB, with firms like Barclays and TD Cowen raising price targets; the stock now has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target of $61.20.
• U.S. Bancorp reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $1.18 on revenue of $7.32 billion, and it continued to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share for a 3.9% yield.

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 53,569 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,858,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 15,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Genesis Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Genesis Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 49,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,634,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 27,364 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on USB. Barclays raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $58.00 to $57.50 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.20.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 40,000 shares of the firm's 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 directly owned 207,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,813,307. This trade represents a 16.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the firm's 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 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB stock opened at $53.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $82.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $42.21 and a 52 week high of $61.19. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $53.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.47.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $7.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 18.01% and a return on equity of 13.55%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.61%.

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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