Freestone Grove Partners LP Purchases New Shares in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 221,756 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,607,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of USB. FIL Ltd lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 28,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,381,000 after purchasing an additional 8,542 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $1,018,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,836,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,640,569,000 after buying an additional 1,079,056 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,158,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,427,000 after acquiring an additional 312,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 380,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,212,000 after acquiring an additional 38,802 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.47. 9,089,430 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,115,852. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $35.18 and a 12 month high of $53.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.91. The business's 50-day moving average price is $41.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 14.75%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. U.S. Bancorp's payout ratio is 49.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on USB shares. Wolfe Research raised U.S. Bancorp from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $49.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $61.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $43.50 price target (down previously from $51.00) on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, U.S. Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $37.32 per share, with a total value of $186,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $559,800. The trade was a 50.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 66,317 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $3,114,246.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 209,482 shares in the company, valued at $9,837,274.72. This represents a 24.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 219,812 shares of company stock worth $10,385,665. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About U.S. Bancorp

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.