South Dakota Investment Council Cuts Stock Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 641,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,200 shares during the period. U.S. Bancorp comprises approximately 0.6% of South Dakota Investment Council’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $30,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 16.9% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 532,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,401,000 after purchasing an additional 76,914 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 14.0% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 3.4% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 114,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,238,000 after purchasing an additional 3,737 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 19.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 50,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,325,000 after purchasing an additional 8,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 17.7% in the third quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,451 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,022,140.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,440,751.55. This represents a 9.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,132,431. The trade was a 7.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 219,812 shares of company stock worth $10,385,665 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. DA Davidson raised U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Compass Point increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.21.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $45.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $37.81 and a one year high of $53.98.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 14.75%. U.S. Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.77%.

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.