Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Grows Position in U.S. Bancorp $USB

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 68.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 416,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 169,300 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $21,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in U.S. Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,887,497,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 5,236.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 33,350,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,779,556,000 after buying an additional 32,725,000 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $296,377,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 3,451.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,332,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,191,000 after acquiring an additional 4,210,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,919,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,329,683,000 after acquiring an additional 4,153,080 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Bancorp

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.00, for a total transaction of $2,280,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 207,251 shares in the company, valued at $11,813,307. This trade represents a 16.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkatachari Dilip sold 34,522 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $1,916,661.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,292 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,731.84. This trade represents a 40.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

USB stock opened at $61.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. U.S. Bancorp has a 52 week low of $43.46 and a 52 week high of $62.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $56.57 and its 200 day moving average is $55.50. The firm has a market cap of $95.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.96.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 18.01% and a return on equity of 13.55%. The business had revenue of $7.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that U.S. Bancorp will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. U.S. Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 43.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on USB. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered U.S. Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on U.S. Bancorp in a report on Monday, June 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $63.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.57.

U.S. Bancorp Profile

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.