Wright Investors Service Inc. Purchases 29,080 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 74.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,080 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $2,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 135.4% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,608 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 138,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,985,000 after acquiring an additional 8,071 shares during the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 132,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,743,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company's stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock traded down $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $39.44. 9,789,602 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,797,694. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.72. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $27.27 and a 1-year high of $45.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.97%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. U.S. Bancorp's payout ratio is 59.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Bancorp news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,582 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.47, for a total value of $895,005.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 164,880 shares in the company, valued at $6,837,573.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 26,583 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.37, for a total transaction of $1,152,904.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 144,236 shares in the company, valued at $6,255,515.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,582 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.47, for a total transaction of $895,005.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 164,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,837,573.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on USB shares. TheStreet upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.91.

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.