U.S. Bancorp $USB Stock: Candriam S.C.A. Reduces Stake

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. cut its U.S. Bancorp stake by 26.9% in the third quarter, selling 201,122 shares; it retained 545,661 shares valued at about $31.6 million.
• U.S. Bancorp beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $1.34 and revenue of $8.04 billion; revenue rose 8.7% year over year. It also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.52 to $0.54 per share.
• Analysts give the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $68.65. CEO Gunjan Kedia separately sold 27,267 shares, reducing his stake by 6.01%.

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 26.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 545,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 201,122 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $31,633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in 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 valued at $539,232,000 after purchasing an additional 93,025 shares during the period. Mufg Bank LTD. acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,680,199,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 57.1% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 92,257 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,798,000 after buying an additional 33,517 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 133,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,728,000 after buying an additional 40,208 shares during the period. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 326,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,725,000 after buying an additional 16,814 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, CEO Gunjan Kedia sold 27,267 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.37, for a total transaction of $1,700,642.79. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 426,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,585,960.94. This trade represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE USB opened at $59.49 on Monday. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $45.02 and a twelve month high of $66.07. The stock has a market cap of $92.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $8.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 18.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.30 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

USB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research set a $67.50 price target on U.S. Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Argus boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Stephens upped 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 research note on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.65.

About U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp is the parent company of U.S. Bank, a financial services provider serving consumers, businesses, institutions and government entities across the United States. Its history traces to 1863, when one of its predecessor institutions, First National Bank of Cincinnati, was established.

U.S. Bank offers consumer and business banking, lending, payment services, wealth management, investment services and corporate trust services. Its products include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, commercial loans and digital banking solutions.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.

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