Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Sells 2,500 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. decreased its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 532,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,401,000 after acquiring an additional 76,914 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 6.9% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 317,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,537,000 after purchasing an additional 20,522 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 11.8% in the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 7,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $303,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC increased its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 6,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on USB shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $53.00 price target on U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James raised shares of 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. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.21.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Performance

NYSE:USB opened at $47.33 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.42. The stock has a market cap of $73.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.04. U.S. Bancorp has a 1-year low of $37.81 and a 1-year high of $53.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. U.S. Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.77%.

Insider Activity

In other U.S. Bancorp news, insider Terrance R. Dolan sold 66,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $3,114,246.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 209,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,837,274.72. This trade represents a 24.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Cecere sold 102,044 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.25, for a total value of $4,821,579.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,230,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,132,431. The trade was a 7.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.