U.S. Bancorp $USB Shares Sold by Conning Inc.

Key Points

• Conning Inc. reduced its U.S. Bancorp stake by 7.5% in the third quarter, selling 51,892 shares and retaining 644,499 shares valued at approximately $37.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 77.6% of USB.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with U.S. Bancorp carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $69.19.
• U.S. Bancorp reported quarterly EPS of $1.34, surpassing estimates, while revenue rose 8.7% year over year to $8.04 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.54 per share, implying a 3.6% annualized yield.

Conning Inc. reduced its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 7.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 644,499 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 51,892 shares during the period. Conning Inc.'s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $37,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 32.9% in the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 687 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Blalock Williams LLC raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.8% in the second quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 4,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.9% in the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 19,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 6,095 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on USB shares. Morgan Stanley set a $68.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Friday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.19.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 0.2%

USB stock opened at $59.65 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.98. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $45.02 and a twelve month high of $66.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.02. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $8.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. U.S. Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 42.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Bancorp news, CEO Gunjan Kedia sold 27,267 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.37, for a total value of $1,700,642.79. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 426,262 shares in the company, valued at $26,585,960.94. This represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp Company Profile

U.S. Bancorp NYSE: USB is a financial services holding company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association. U.S. Bank provides banking, lending, payment, investment and wealth-management services to individuals, businesses, institutions and government entities.

The company's consumer and business banking operations offer deposit accounts, mortgages, home-equity and consumer loans, credit cards, small-business banking and commercial lending.

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