Fisher Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in U.S. Bancorp $USB

Fisher Asset Management LLC lowered its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,900,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 180,778 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $261,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of USB. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 323.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 48,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 36,863 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 2.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 18.9% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 39,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,658,000 after purchasing an additional 6,252 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $425,000. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $701,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.00, for a total value of $2,280,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 207,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,813,307. This trade represents a 16.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $1,916,661.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,847,731.84. This trade represents a 40.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on USB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.20.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE USB opened at $54.85 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $54.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.75. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $42.21 and a 12 month high of $61.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.00.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 18.01% and a return on equity of 13.55%. The company had revenue of $7.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is 43.61%.

U.S. Bancorp Profile

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is a bank holding company and the parent of U.S. Bank, a national commercial bank that provides a wide range of banking, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services. The company operates through consumer and business banking, commercial banking, payment services, and wealth management segments. Its product set includes deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage origination and servicing, credit and debit card services, treasury and cash management, merchant processing, and institutional and trust services.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.