North Star Asset Management Inc. Invests $962,000 in U.S. Bancorp $USB

North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 15,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $962,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in USB. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 32.9% during the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in U.S. Bancorp by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 13,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 0.8% in the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 23,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 0.9% during the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 19,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE USB opened at $62.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $97.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $62.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.75. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $45.02 and a one year high of $66.07.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.07. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 18.49% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The company had revenue of $7.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 41.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Stephen L. Philipson sold 36,906 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.08, for a total transaction of $2,328,030.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 74,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,729,044.52. This represents a 32.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Evercore raised U.S. Bancorp from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.06.

About U.S. Bancorp

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.