M&G PLC Sells 242,631 Shares of U.S. Bancorp $USB

M&G PLC reduced its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 88.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 242,631 shares during the period. M&G PLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $138,183,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 141,230,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,962,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,393,383 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,070,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $425,163,000 after buying an additional 1,493,318 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 192.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,994,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,752,000 after buying an additional 1,311,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,012,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $464,953,000 after buying an additional 1,045,509 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Bancorp news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 26,909 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.86, for a total value of $1,260,955.74. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 226,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,607,932.50. This represents a 10.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Andrew Cecere sold 140,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total value of $6,508,221.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,360,414 shares in the company, valued at $63,041,584.76. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE USB opened at $47.29 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $73.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.10. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $35.18 and a 52-week high of $53.98.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.11. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $7.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 47.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on USB shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $52.00 price target on U.S. Bancorp and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.55.

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.