Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Reduces Stock Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 206,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,672 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado's holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $9,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in USB. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1,088.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 70.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of USB stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.47. 9,089,430 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,099,744. U.S. Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $35.18 and a fifty-two week high of $53.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $64.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.91. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $41.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.44.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period last year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.82%. U.S. Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Andrew Cecere sold 102,044 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.25, for a total value of $4,821,579.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,230,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,132,431. This represents a 7.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aleem Gillani acquired 5,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $37.32 per share, for a total transaction of $186,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $559,800. The trade was a 50.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 219,812 shares of company stock valued at $10,385,665. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on USB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. 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. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp currently 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.