Carret Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Carret Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 540 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 77.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 26,583 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.37, for a total value of $1,152,904.71. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 144,236 shares in the company, valued at $6,255,515.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 26,583 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.37, for a total value of $1,152,904.71. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 144,236 shares in the company, valued at $6,255,515.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,582 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $6,837,573.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock traded up $0.64 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.61. 6,548,603 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,786,709. The firm has a market cap of $64.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $27.27 and a 52-week high of $45.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.03.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced 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 return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 12.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on USB. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $47.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, U.S. Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.14.

U.S. Bancorp Company 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.