U.S. Bancorp $USB Shares Sold by Hilltop Holdings Inc.

Key Points

• Hilltop Holdings cut its U.S. Bancorp stake by 59.8% in the first quarter, selling 36,612 shares and leaving it with 24,620 shares worth about $1.28 million.
• U.S. Bancorp’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $1.35 EPS versus $1.28 expected and revenue of $7.71 billion versus $7.58 billion expected.
• Analysts have turned more positive on the stock, with several recent upgrades lifting the consensus rating to Moderate Buy and the average price target to $67.00.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. cut its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 59.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 36,612 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.'s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inceptionr LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 424.4% during the fourth quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 27,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 22,348 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 244.4% in the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 30,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,647,000 after acquiring an additional 21,907 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,369,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $539,232,000 after purchasing an additional 93,025 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 285,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,218,000 after purchasing an additional 42,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $2,856,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on USB shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. CLSA set a $67.50 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.00.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:USB opened at $63.91 on Friday. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $43.46 and a 52-week high of $64.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.42. The company has a market capitalization of $99.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.96.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.07. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 18.49% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The firm had revenue of $7.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 41.52%.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $1,916,661.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,847,731.84. This trade represents a 40.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About U.S. Bancorp

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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