Associated Banc Corp Reduces Stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Associated Banc Corp lessened its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 167,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,143 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $8,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Postrock Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $532,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 111,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,343,000 after purchasing an additional 8,500 shares during the period. LBP AM SA lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 18,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Integras Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,904,000. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of U.S. Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,560,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of USB opened at $42.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $37.81 and a one year high of $53.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.90 and a 200 day moving average of $47.77.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS 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 company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.77%.

Insider Activity at U.S. Bancorp

In other news, EVP James L. Chosy sold 21,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,022,140.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,127 shares in the company, valued at $9,440,751.55. The trade was a 9.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Cecere sold 102,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.25, for a total value of $4,821,579.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,230,316 shares in the company, valued at $58,132,431. This represents a 7.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 219,812 shares of company stock worth $10,385,665. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

USB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.21.

About U.S. Bancorp

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.