Ascent Group LLC Grows Stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 55,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $2,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 323.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 48,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after acquiring an additional 36,863 shares in the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356 shares in the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 30,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $753,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB stock opened at $42.95 on Monday. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $35.18 and a 52-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 firm has a market capitalization of $66.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.81.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USB has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $43.50 price objective (down previously from $51.00) on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $37.32 per share, with a total value of $186,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $559,800. The trade was a 50.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.