Kentucky Retirement Systems Reduces Holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,333 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $5,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in USB. Norges Bank acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $827,370,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $154,517,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 33,719,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,459,363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,598,163 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter worth $92,192,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 88.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,331,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097,179 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In other U.S. Bancorp news, Director Aleem Gillani purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $44.99 per share, for a total transaction of $449,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $449,900. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $56.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.76.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

U.S. Bancorp stock traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $45.46. 5,681,656 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,558,748. The firm has a market cap of $70.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 4.39 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 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.74 and a 200 day moving average of $41.52. U.S. Bancorp has a 12 month low of $30.47 and a 12 month high of $45.85.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 12.55%. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.31%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.90%.

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.