Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Takes $2.23 Million Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 46,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,233,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 4.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,763,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,659,000 after purchasing an additional 75,104 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 139.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 285,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,685,000 after buying an additional 166,168 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 10,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after buying an additional 5,390 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 3,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First County Bank CT grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 19,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $925,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.59, for a total transaction of $1,427,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,006.10. This represents a 23.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Aleem Gillani acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $37.32 per share, with a total value of $186,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $559,800. This represents a 50.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.48.

U.S. Bancorp Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of U.S. Bancorp stock opened at $41.03 on Wednesday. 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 $63.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.95 and a 200 day moving average of $46.27.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.06. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.50%.

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.