Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Sells 6,958 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lessened its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,958 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co's holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $777,524,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,787,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $802,947,000 after purchasing an additional 5,449,949 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 153.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,949,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $374,573,000 after purchasing an additional 4,807,662 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 414.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,789,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $276,915,000 after purchasing an additional 4,663,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $184,733,000. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,451 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $1,022,140.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,127 shares in the company, valued at $9,440,751.55. This trade represents a 9.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.59, for a total value of $1,427,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 99,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,749,006.10. This trade represents a 23.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 153,495 shares of company stock valued at $7,271,419. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

USB traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $41.44. 5,229,960 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,100,310. The company's 50-day moving average is $41.14 and its 200 day moving average is $46.36. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $35.18 and a 52 week high of $53.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on USB shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $43.50 target price (down previously from $51.00) on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.48.

U.S. Bancorp 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.