Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Stock Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 11.3%, owning 368,400 shares valued at approximately $15.6 million after acquiring an additional 37,400 shares.
• Institutional investors own 77.60% of U.S. Bancorp's stock, with National Bank of Canada and Citigroup significantly increasing their holdings during the first quarter.
• U.S. Bancorp recently reported earnings per share of $1.11, beating estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing a yield of 4.5%.

Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 11.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 368,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 37,400 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $15,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 141,230,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,962,742,000 after buying an additional 2,393,383 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 17,050,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $815,529,000 after buying an additional 1,670,305 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,574,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $601,458,000 after buying an additional 1,339,493 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,012,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $464,953,000 after buying an additional 1,045,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 9,485,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $400,483,000 after buying an additional 27,566 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, EVP Souheil Badran sold 23,727 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total transaction of $1,099,509.18. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 70,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,259,833.64. This represents a 25.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 2.7%

NYSE USB traded up $1.22 on Tuesday, reaching $45.78. The stock had a trading volume of 8,836,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,728,933. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $35.18 and a 12-month high of $53.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.86.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 16.30%. The company had revenue of $7.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. TD Cowen began coverage on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.55.

About U.S. Bancorp

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.