U.S. Bancorp $USB Shares Bought by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 9.44 million shares worth about $503.8 million.
• U.S. Bancorp reported Q1 earnings above expectations, with EPS of $1.18 versus the $1.14 consensus and revenue of $7.32 billion, up 4.7% year over year.
• The bank continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.8%, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target of $61.20.

Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,441,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 202,725 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.61% of U.S. Bancorp worth $503,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc raised its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 77.8% in the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $1,916,661.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,847,731.84. This trade represents a 40.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 40,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.00, for a total transaction of $2,280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 207,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,813,307. This trade represents a 16.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 0.0%

U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $54.85 on Tuesday. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $42.21 and a fifty-two week high of $61.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $54.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.75. The company has a market capitalization of $85.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.00.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 18.01% and a return on equity of 13.55%. The firm had revenue of $7.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $64.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $58.00 to $57.50 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.20.

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.

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