U.S. Bancorp $USB Shares Purchased by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 13.5% in Q2, now owning 236,852 shares valued at approximately $10.8 million.
• Several hedge funds have acquired new stakes in U.S. Bancorp, with institutional investors now holding 77.60% of the company's stock.
• U.S. Bancorp recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.52 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.4%.

Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 13.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 236,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,242 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $10,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter worth $26,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 59.4% in the 1st quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 698 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on USB shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.48.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 26,909 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.86, for a total transaction of $1,260,955.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 226,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,607,932.50. The trade was a 10.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Andrew Cecere sold 140,445 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total transaction of $6,508,221.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 1,360,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $63,041,584.76. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of USB stock opened at $47.69 on Wednesday. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $35.18 and a 52-week high of $53.98. The stock has a market cap of $74.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's 50-day moving average is $48.02 and its 200-day moving average is $44.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from U.S. Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. U.S. Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 47.60%.

U.S. Bancorp Company 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.

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