Equity Investment Corp Trims Stock Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Equity Investment Corp reduced its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,710,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,972 shares during the period. U.S. Bancorp makes up 2.6% of Equity Investment Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Equity Investment Corp owned approximately 0.17% of U.S. Bancorp worth $114,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in U.S. Bancorp by 86.1% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $37.32 per share, for a total transaction of $186,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $559,800. The trade was a 50.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE USB traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $45.24. 21,315,712 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,538,455. U.S. Bancorp has a 1 year low of $35.18 and a 1 year high of $53.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.68 and a 200 day moving average of $44.33. The stock has a market cap of $70.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 13.02%. The firm had revenue of $7.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. U.S. Bancorp's revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research 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, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.50%.

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.