Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,740,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,063 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of U.S. Bancorp worth $73,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 12.9% during the first quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 9,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 0.7% during the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 57,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,291,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 10.4% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 355,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,997,000 after purchasing an additional 33,457 shares during the period. Sebold Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 7.1% in the first quarter. Sebold Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.9% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 22,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Aleem Gillani acquired 5,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $37.32 per share, for a total transaction of $186,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $559,800. This trade represents a 50.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on USB. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Cowen began coverage on U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $61.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.61.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE USB traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $48.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,184,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,630,626. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business's 50 day moving average is $43.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.36. U.S. Bancorp has a 12-month low of $35.18 and a 12-month high of $53.98. The firm has a market cap of $74.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.99.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 15.70%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. U.S. Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 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.