Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $2.35 Million Stock Position in U.S. Bancorp $USB

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management boosted its U.S. Bancorp stake by 81.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 43,733 shares valued at about $2.35 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on U.S. Bancorp is broadly positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $61.20. Several firms recently raised targets, though JPMorgan kept an underweight rating.
• The bank reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.18 and revenue of $7.32 billion, and it also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, equal to a 3.7% yield.

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 81.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,645 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $2,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 15,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Genesis Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Genesis Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 49,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,634,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Park National Corp OH increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 27,364 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Romano Brothers AND Company grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 9,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on USB shares. Argus raised their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $64.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $58.00 to $57.50 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.20.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.00, for a total transaction of $2,280,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 207,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,813,307. The trade was a 16.18% 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 Price Performance

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $55.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $41.81 and a fifty-two week high of $61.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $54.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.16. The company has a market cap of $86.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $7.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 18.01% and a return on equity of 13.55%. The business's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.61%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.