Empirical Finance LLC Trims Position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Empirical Finance LLC reduced its holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 557 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $2,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 1,088.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 222.7% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in U.S. Bancorp by 92.8% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 696 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 66,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $3,114,246.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 209,482 shares in the company, valued at $9,837,274.72. This trade represents a 24.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 30,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.59, for a total transaction of $1,427,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,006.10. The trade was a 23.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 219,812 shares of company stock worth $10,385,665 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

USB opened at $47.22 on Monday. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $37.81 and a twelve month high of $53.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.66 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $49.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.45.

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

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

USB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.21.

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.